Construction will begin Wednesday to install a temporary sidewalk on a dangerous stretch of road in the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa area.
An alarmingly dangerous dirt path is used by school children on a busy stretch of Old Otay Mesa Road to get to school at San Ysidro High in the Sweetwater Union High School District.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and city leaders will attend the ceremony announcing the construction at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
The city will take a patch of state lands from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to complete an $8.5 million project that will create a safer sidewalk for them. The project has a total budget of $14 million.
The project will add bike lanes, realigns the street, constructs retaining walls, and widen and realign the street. In addition, crews will install guard rails, fencing, sidewalks, curb ramps, gutters and street lighting.
City staff members have been working to build a sidewalk there since 2002.
The district provides free school bus passes to students who would otherwise have to walk that path.
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Authorities said the project design is expected to be completed in Winter 2015 and the sidewalk will be constructed by Summer 2017.
