University City Undergrounding Project Ends

Two years and $7.5 million later, the project is finally complete

The views in University City are a little clearer today than they were two years ago.

A longtime utility undergrounding project has been officially completed with the removal of the final pole in the area. Since April 2009, about 3.4 miles of utility lines along Pennant Way between Stresemann Street and Regents Road have been placed below ground.

The power lines affect 448 properties and cost $7.5 million to move from overhead to underground.

The public works project is part of the City of San Diego’s Utilities Undergrounding Program, which aims to make utility lines safer and more reliable.

The pole removed Tuesday from the University City neighborhood marked the last of 3,344 poles that have been removed over the past two years.

The neighborhood celebrated the major milestone with a "final pole removal ceremony" which took place at the intersection of Stresemann Street and Ducommun Avenue.

Several leaders involved with the project, including District 1 Councilmember Sherri Lightner and Director of Public Works Tony Heinrichs, spoke at the closing ceremony.

And just like that, all of the unsightly power and communication lines that once spanned University City are now underground.

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