$300M Allocated for Projects in North County and Otay Mesa: SANDAG

The California Transportation Commission has allocated $300 million to The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and Caltrans for several San Diego construction projects.

The funds will be used to improve the Interstate 5 corridor in the Encinitas and Carlsbad area. According to Caltrans, more than 700,000 daily trips are made on this section of I-5.

Improvements include nine more miles of HOV lanes along the freeway, building a new bike path between the San Elijo and Batiquitos lagoons and adding a Park & Ride facility with charging for electric cars at I-5 and Manchester Avenue.

The projects will also add lanes for vehicles to accelerate and decelerate when exiting and entering the highway to help regulate the flow of traffic.

Some of the funding will go to construction of a new Otay Mesa East Border Crossing and improvements to State Route 11.

The project at the new port of entry will receive $4.81 million to design the Siempre Viva Interchange, the most southern interchange for passenger vehicles and trucks approaching the U.S. Mexico Border.

Caltrans says the money is in part from the gas tax increase that took effect in 2017.

More than $202 million of SB 1 funding will be matched with more than $97 million in federal funds, according to a SANDAG news release.

Construction is expected to start later this year. The Build NCC project is slated to be completed by 2021.

Contact Us