DEL MAR — Driving in and out of Del Mar along Jimmy Durante Boulevard will get a whole lot easier in about a month.
“We are on schedule for a May 24 substantial completion,” Public Works Director Eric Minicilli said during a project update at the April 20 City Council meeting.
By then workers should be off the roadway and completing “touchup work,” Minicilli added.
Street, sidewalk and drainage improvements along a southeast portion of Jimmy Durante began in mid-February.
Since then a stretch of the roadway has been subject to closures and slow-downs to accommodate the work, which includes construction of about 2,500 feet of new curbs and gutters, 16,000 square feet of sidewalks, 2,200 square feet of retaining walls, seven pedestrian ramps and 87,300 square feet of pavement rehabilitation.
Wastewater and water main pipelines are also being replaced and new underground storm drain infrastructure added.
Before the beginning of next month the water line should be back in service and connected to the rest of the city, Minicilli said.
He said there are tentatively no plans to close the northbound lane for the next few weeks, but shut downs will begin again in the middle of May to complete the guardrail work and a lot of the paving.
“That’ll involve major closures to get the roadway repaved, restriped and ready for summer season,” he said.
Stone coverings are currently being installed on the retaining walls.
“Part of it is up,” Minicilli said. “I think it looks great. Take a look as you drive by.”
The improvements are part of a more than $4 million citywide street, sidewalk and drainage project that is being implemented in phases. Most funding is coming from a financing plan offered by the San Diego Association of Governments.
The city is using the money it receives annually in TransNet funds — about $200,000 — to pay the debt.
TransNet is a voter-approved half-cent sales tax given to cities for use on transportation projects.
The project initially included the addition of a roundabout at the intersection of Jimmy Durante and San Dieguito Drive. In response to concerns raised by several residents, the traffic-calming device was severed from the improvements.
An informational meeting regarding proposed changes to the intersection is scheduled from 6 to 7 p.m. on April 30 in the City Hall Annex.
