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Build NCC, the first phase of the North Coast Corridor (NCC) Program in the cities of Solana Beach, Encinitas, and Carlsbad, is building and linking local and regional bike and pedestrian trails throughout the corridor to improve coastal access, east-west/north-south connectivity, and local mobility.
One of the project’s largest bike components, a 10-mile segment of the North Coast Bike Trail, will create new bike and pedestrian connections as well as build a suspended trail bridge under the San Elijo Lagoon highway bridge. When completed, the continuous 27-mile planned North Coast Bike Trail will connect travelers to major employment, recreation, and educational hubs from Oceanside to San Diego.
The path being built as part of Build NCC will run along the west side of the Interstate 5 (I-5) starting at Lomas Santa Fe Drive and will connect to the pedestrian trails at the I-5/Manchester Avenue intersection. In the future, the bike path will help fill the pedestrian and bicycle gaps and will provide commuters additional transportation options up and down the coast.
Additionally, in the coming month, SANDAG will break ground on the Encinitas segment of the Coastal Rail Trail, a 1.3 mile shared-use, separated path for walking and biking along the east side of the rail corridor from Chesterfield Drive to the Santa Fe Drive undercrossing. The project’s alignment on the east side of the coastal rail corridor will enhance mobility for people walking and biking in Encinitas and improve coastal access. The Coastal Rail Trail is a 44-mile route between Oceanside and the Santa Fe Depot in Downtown San Diego. The Coastal Rail Trail was initially planned in the mid-1990s and is being constructed in segments by SANDAG, Caltrans, and the various cities it traverses.
The 12-foot-wide paved path also will include a high-visibility crosswalk at Montgomery Avenue near Cardiff Elementary School. The project is expected to be open to the public in early 2019. Once completed, the new Encinitas segment will provide bicyclists and pedestrians with a comfortable environment to travel along the Coastal Rail Trail.
For more information on Build NCC and regular updates on Coastal Rail Trail construction activities, sign up for email notifications at KeepSanDiegoMoving.com/BuildNCC, follow the project on Twitter @BuildNCC or with #BuildNCC, and enroll for text alerts by texting “BuildNCC” to 313131. Additional information can also be obtained by calling the construction hotline at (844) NCC-0050 or by emailing [email protected].
About Build NCC
Build NCC is a collaborative effort between SANDAG, Caltrans, and United States Department of Transportation. The first phase of construction is in the cities of Solana Beach, Encinitas, and Carlsbad as part of the North Coast Corridor Program. Build NCC includes extending the existing carpool lane on I-5 in each direction from Lomas Santa Fe Drive to State Route 78, double tracking the rail line and replacing the highway bridge at the San Elijo Lagoon, replacing the rail bridges at the San Elijo and Batiquitos lagoons, restoring the San Elijo Lagoon, and constructing nearly 10 miles of new bike and pedestrian trails. Construction on Build NCC began in early 2017 and will be complete by 2021.
