ENCINITAS — The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved the city of Encinitas’ plan to construct a rail undercrossing near El Portal Street in Leucadia. The undercrossing will provide a safe bicycle and pedestrian route between North Vulcan Avenue and North Coast Highway 101. The $10.2 million undercrossing will improve access to locations such as Paul Ecke Central Elementary School and businesses along North Coast Highway 101.
“The city remains on track to deliver this critical project to protect the safety of our residents and visitors,” said Mayor Catherine Blakespear. “The kids and families at Paul Ecke Central Elementary School will soon have a safe passage to and from their school when this project is completed. It also serves as one of the key elements of the larger Leucadia Streetscape project scheduled to begin construction later next year.”
The El Portal project is in the final engineering phase, and project construction is anticipated to begin in Summer 2020. The city is coordinating with the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) to facilitate construction management of the project. With this final CPUC action on the project, the next steps are to secure the required approvals and authorizations from the California Transportation Commission (CTC) and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
