Caltrans and San Diego say they’ll break floor in April on widening the western portion of State Route 56 from 4 lanes to 6 lanes, assuaging visitors congestion close to a few of the area’s largest job facilities.
The long-awaited $39 million venture, first introduced in 2014, will embrace two new lanes within the current median that will likely be reserved for buses and high-occupancy autos with a minimum of two passengers.
The two.2-mile widening venture, which is slated for completion in October 2025, may even embrace a brand new bicycle bridge over the east facet ramps of the freeway’s interchange with Interstate 15.
Metropolis officers mentioned the brand new lanes will assist the freeway higher accommodate 1000’s of recent properties and plenty of new companies within the space, together with the 70-acre Merge 56 mixed-use venture.
“This space has grown tremendously previously few years, and it undoubtedly wants some assist,” Councilmember Dr. Jennifer Campbell mentioned final week.
Metropolis officers mentioned the brand new lanes may even assist with visitors from massive employment facilities in Sorrento Valley, Sorrento Hills and Rancho Bernardo. Sorrento Valley is the biggest employment heart in San Diego County.
Neighborhoods straight affected by the brand new lanes embrace Del Mar, Carmel Valley, Torrey Highlands, Rancho Penasquitos, Black Mountain Ranch, Sabre Springs, Carmel Mountain Ranch and Poway.
The widening will span from El Camino Actual to only west of Carmel Valley Street on the Gonzales Creek bridge.
The Metropolis Council’s Energetic Transportation and Infrastructure Committee unanimously permitted final week a brand new venture settlement between the town and Caltrans.
Environmentalists questioned whether or not including extra freeway lanes is a clever use of public cash with worsening local weather change prompting cities to seek out methods to get folks to commute by means apart from vehicles.
“It’s necessary to see what the return on funding is after we’re spending thousands and thousands of {dollars},” mentioned Corinna Contreras, a coverage advocate for nonprofit Local weather Motion Marketing campaign.
Metropolis officers mentioned components of the venture that might combat local weather change embrace the lanes for speedy buses and the brand new bicycle bridge, which goals to make bike commuting safer and extra handy within the space.
An current 10-mile protected bicycle path underneath SR-56, which runs from simply east of I-5 at El Camino Actual to only east of Interstate 15, will likely be prolonged west underneath I-5 to Sorrento Valley Street.
The county’s 2021 Regional Transportation Plan requires the eventual widening of SR-56 to seven lanes, with two all-purpose lanes in every path, one HOV lane in every path and a managed lane that might shift path.
Duncan Hughes, deputy director of the town’s Transportation Division, mentioned the brand new venture consists of constructing solely two of the three deliberate new lanes. Hughes mentioned he didn’t know when the managed lane could be constructed.
Town is contributing $22.5 million to the venture. The cash is coming from charges builders paid to assist the town construct infrastructure wanted to assist their initiatives.
Caltrans — the state Division of Transportation — is contributing $16.5 million, $11 million for environmental evaluation and $5.5 million for design work.
