ENCINITAS — A mile-long stretch of one of Olivenhain’s key arterial roads is getting a badly needed face lift, and residents couldn’t be happier.
Construction crews this week scraped off the aging asphalt along Lone Jack Road between Rancho Santa Fe Road and Jackie Lane, replacing it with a shimmering black coat and fresh striping.
They also replaced an old storm drain and spruced up the trail along a shorter stretch of the same street.
The City Council approved the pair of projects earlier this year, but crews started on them Dec. 4 and completed them Dec. 6.
Lone Jack Road is one of the most used streets in Olivenhain, carrying an average of about 6,700 vehicles per day, behind only El Camino Del Norte and Rancho Santa Fe in terms of average daily trips. It snakes up northeast and leads to several gated equestrian estates and subdivisions.
The city last repaved a portion of the westernmost stretch of the street in 2004, and has rated its condition as a 63 on its one-to-100 pavement condition index, which is a “fair” rating. By comparison, the average street in Encinitas has a PCI rating of about 76. Another segment of the road was repaved in 2012.
Earlier this year, the city had to repave a 2,200-foot-long section of Lone Jack Road northeast of the current work after pavement failure along the street caused a dump truck to sink into the street in March.
Residents said project was sorely needed, as recent rains have deteriorated the street and caused potholes to form, and poor drainage has led to flooding along the street.
“A couple of times the street turned into a river,” said Karen Montgomery, who sat in her car in a queue of cars waiting for crews to let them drive north toward their homes. “I don’t mind waiting (in traffic) for the road to be fixed, it is a nice improvement.”
Some residents said they wanted the city to explore constructing additional ingress and egress points in Olivenhain, especially along Lone Jack, which is basically a one-way in, one-way out road.
“There’s too much traffic to only have this road,” said Laura Leddey, who said she had lived in Olivenhain for 12 years. “Congestion here is horrible, especially when you get closer to Rancho Santa Fe.”
