SOLANA BEACH — The first portion of the city’s long-awaited Lomas Santa Fe Corridor improvement project is kicking off this fall, after the Solana Beach City Council awarded a $7.4 million contract last week for the construction of the eastern segment.
The Lomas Santa Fe East project focuses on the one-mile stretch east of Interstate 5 from Santa Helena to the city’s eastern boundary at Highland Drive, and will include new roadway paving, new sidewalks, a multi-use trail, bike lanes, landscaped medians, pedestrian enhancements such as benches and decorative paving, and new traffic signals.
The second phase of the project, known as Lomas Santa Fe West, will include similar improvements from approximately Interstate 5 to Highway 101. City leaders plan to finalize the design of the western segment by next year.
On May 27, the City Council agreed to award a contract to Tri-Group Construction out of a pool of six bids for the project. Tri-Group’s contract includes $6.7 million for the estimated cost of work, plus a 10% contingency, for a total of $7.4 million.
“I am just so thrilled that we’re doing this tonight, and I’m really amazed that this has come in at our engineer’s estimate,” said Mayor Lesa Heebner. “I also think it’s interesting that all the bids were very close. It gives me comfort.”
Work will begin after Labor Day and is expected to take around 11 months to complete, lasting through late summer of 2027.
The council also agreed to enter into a two-year construction management contract with Kleifelder for approximately $979,000. Leaders emphasized that Kleinfelder’s communication with the city and community will be crucial.
“The last project of this scope, which I think was the 101 redo, we had to be agile, we had to react to things going on. Communication, as the mayor said, was incredibly important,” said City Councilmember Dave Zito.
He also noted that Lomas Santa Fe is a heavy bike corridor, and asked that crews make it clear where bikes are supposed to go during construction.
City officials said they have identified non-working days for construction, such as the opening of the San Diego County Fair and the first week of the school year, to prevent major traffic impacts. At least one travel lane will be maintained in each direction during construction.
Senior Civil Engineer Anda Wright said the city will conduct proactive outreach to the community before construction begins and will offer a dedicated hotline and email address that residents can use to report any issues during construction.
“Prior to construction and throughout the duration of the project, the city will maintain a strong focus on communication and public engagement. The city will provide routine updates on construction schedules and statuses throughout the city’s website and newsletter,” Wright said.
Planning for the Lomas Santa Fe Corridor improvement project began over a decade ago, back in 2015, and involved heavy community input, data collection, and workshops. At one point, the city considered implementing roundabouts along the corridor, but later updated the designs to remove them and maintain two travel lanes in each direction.
Deputy Mayor Jill MacDonald said she recalled attending local meetings about the project back in 2018, before she was elected to the City Council.
“This project is in my district. I think maybe the first City Council meeting I went to was probably discussing this project,” said MacDonald.
Rep. Mike Levin (D-Dana Point) secured $7 million in funding for the Lomas Santa Fe East project back in 2023. The San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG, awarded $3.5 million for the western portion earlier this year.
