During the month of October, SANDAG and Caltrans hosted two separate Interstate 5 (I-5) construction open house events in the cities of Encinitas and Carlsbad. Project partners and representatives of both agencies staffed a series of project booths which included updates on: current and upcoming I-5 HOV/carpool lane improvements, the San Elijo Lagoon Double Track Project, the San Elijo Lagoon Restoration Project, Encinitas Coastal Rail Trail bikeway, and other community, pedestrian, and environmental enhancements. In addition, representatives from SANDAG’s iCommute program provided information about alternate transportation solutions during construction.
The open houses featured an open format that offered residents and community members in attendance an opportunity to navigate the room at their leisure and have their questions answered directly by project experts.
Each of the projects displayed at the open house are part of a comprehensive package of highway, rail, bike/pedestrian, and environmental improvements along the North Coast Corridor, known as Build NCC. The Build NCC projects will provide community members who live, work, or travel through San Diego County’s north county coastal corridor with an array of multi-modal transportation choices and quality of life improvements.
Beginning in November, Build NCC construction teams will start work to extend the carpool lane on Interstate 5 (I-5) in each direction between Manchester Avenue in the City of Encinitas and Palomar Airport Road in the City of Carlsbad. Along the eight-mile stretch, crews will begin by placing concrete barriers along the inner shoulder of both northbound and southbound I-5 in order to protect the traveling public and construction crews while work is conducted in the median. In approximately one year, the temporary concrete barrier will be moved to the outside shoulder. This work is necessary to allow crews to construct the new carpool lanes. This Build NCC project is expected to be completed by late 2021.
While construction crews are working in the median of the highway, the number of lanes will remain the same and the outside shoulder will always remain open for motorists to pull over should they need assistance. Caltrans and SANDAG also fund Motorist Aid, which provides motorist assistance during daytime weekday and weekend hours to help stranded vehicles get back on the highway. Simply call 511 in San Diego County and say “Roadside Assistance.”
These needed transportation and quality of life improvements are made possible through a combination of state and federal funds, local TransNet dollars – a voter-approved, half cent sales tax for regional transportation projects administered by SANDAG – and funding from Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair Accountability Act of 2017 (SB 1). SB 1 is estimated to provide over $1 billion over the next 10 years to fix roads, freeways, bridges, and expand transit across San Diego.
For more information on Build NCC and regular updates on construction activities, please sign up for email notifications at KeepSanDiegoMoving.com/BuildNCC, follow the project on Twitter @BuildNCC, and enroll for text alerts by texting “BuildNCC” to 313131. Additional information can 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. Build NCC is the first phase of construction in the cities of Solana Beach, Encinitas, and Carlsbad as part of the North Coast Corridor Program. Build NCC includes extending the existing HOV/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 Lagoon, 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.
