On Thursday, representatives for Caltrans gave an update on the regional transportation projects for 2015.
The projects range from replacing bridges to testing WiFi on buses.
Here are some of the highlights:
Construction will begin this month on the Interstate 5/Genesee Avenue Interchange.
The six-lane overpass will be replaced with 10-lanes and freeway lanes will be widened.
The total project cost of $105.2 million will be paid for by funds from the state, city and federal governments as well as SANDAG and UC San Diego.
Local
There will be testing done this fall on the possibility of adding WiFi to the San Diego MTS Rapid Transit buses. If this is successful, the program may widen to the entire transit system.
New low-floor cars will be added to the Blue Line of the San Diego Trolley that runs between San Ysidro to downtown San Diego allowing MTS to stay on time.
San Diego Trolley stations in the South Bay will get larger shelters offering more protection from the sun and rain along with new benches. The improvements are part of a $600 million renewal project funded primarily by California Proposition 1B bond funds and TransNet, the regional half-cent sales tax for transportation projects. Four stations will be completed in 2015.
Sixty miles of train tracks for freight and commuter trains along Interstate 5, known as the San Diego-Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) rail corridor, will be expanded and double-tracked. It’s a $1 billion investment for what is considered to be the second business rail corridor in the country. Three projects under construction currently include Sorrento Valley, San Onofre to Las Pulgas and Sorrento to Miramar. There are an additional 11 project in design with a focus of improving the rail line.
The Inland Rail Trail will begin construction later this year. Seven miles in total running in San Marcos along the Sprinter corridor will be part of the path that will eventually provide access to five Sprinter stations. The project, expected to cost $32 million, will be funded by the regional TransNet half-cent sales tax as well as grants and federal funds.
The Los Penasquitos Lagoon Bridges Replacement Project will replace four single-track wooden trestle railway bridges with concrete bridges. Construction on the bridges built in 1910 and 1930 will begin in 2015 and is expected to last two years.
The environmental review process will be completed this year for a project that replaces the 97-year-old wooden trestle San Dieguito Rail Bridge and 1.1 mile of second mainline rail track between Solana Beach and Del Mar. In addition, a special events platform at the Del Mar Fairgrounds for North County Transit District (NCTD) COASTER and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains is proposed.
See the entire list here.
