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The North Coast Corridor is an infrastructure improvement project in northern San Diego County, California, intended to upgrade road, rail, pedestrian, and bicycle transportation infrastructure, as well as fund environmental restoration. The project has a $6 billion budget, and after beginning the first phases of construction in late 2016 is planned to be completed over the following 40 years. [1]
The $700 million initial phase of construction began in 2016 with a groundbreaking on November 29 at San Elijo Lagoon. [1] The projects in this phase are scheduled to be completed by 2021. [1] The state government is contributing $250 million to this project, mostly coming from the fuel tax levied by SB1, known as the Road Repair and Accountability Act. [2]
Two new bridges are to be built on Interstate 5: one across the San Elijo Lagoon in Solana Beach and Encinitas, and one across Batiquitos Lagoon in Carlsbad. [1] Other road projects include added carpool lanes and sound barriers. [1] The total cost of the highway portion of the first phase was budgeted for $480 million. [3] The highway expansion faces opposition from environmentalists, who argue that "expanding the amount of space we dedicate to cars not only fails to speed up traffic but also accelerates the breakdown of ecosystems that support life on earth." [2]
Two segments of the major passenger rail line following the coast from San Diego north, used by Coaster commuter trains and Pacific Surfliner inter-city trains, are to be double tracked. Work began initially on a 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) segment of track between Cardiff-by-the-Sea and San Elijo Lagoon, including replacement of the railroad bridge over the lagoon. [3] The wooden trestle crossing San Elijo Lagoon was demolished in 2018, after 74 years in service, and was replaced by a modern double-track concrete structure. The wooden trestle had been built in 1944, replacing one built in 1880. [4]
Work is ongoing on a similar project at Batiquitos Lagoon, including a bridge replacement and 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) of new double track. [5] These projects, as well as grade crossing work, are budgeted for $102 million. [3]
This railway line was originally known as the Surf Line built in the 1880s by the California Southern Railroad, which became part of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It is currently part of the LOSSAN Corridor, which forms the route of the Pacific Surfliner. The upgrades to the North Coast Corridor are being done in conjunction with the extension of the San Diego Trolley's Blue Line to UC San Diego, which is known as the Mid-Coast Corridor. [6]
$40 million is to be spent on bicycle path and pedestrian improvements, along with local community enhancements. [1]
San Elijo Lagoon will receive $80 million for restoration efforts, such as dredging and filling to bring sediment to natural levels, as well as additional conserved area to mitigate the impact of the new road and rail bridges. [1] This work is scheduled to begin in 2017. [1]
The Pacific Surfliner is a 350-mile (560 km) passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo.
The San Diego Trolley is a light rail system serving San Diego County, California, United States. The trolley's operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc., is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The trolley operates as a critical component of MTS, with connections to and integrated travel tickets with the local bus systems.
The Surf Line is a railroad line that runs from San Diego to Orange County along California's Pacific coast. It was so named because much of the line is near the Pacific Ocean, within less than 100 feet (30 m) in some places. It is the second busiest passenger rail corridor in the United States after the Northeast Corridor.
The Coast Line is a railroad line between Burbank, California and the San Francisco Bay Area, roughly along the Pacific Coast. It is the shortest rail route between Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Though not as busy as the Surf Line, the continuation of the Coast Line southbound to San Diego, it still sees freight movements and lots of passenger trains. The Pacific Surfliner, which runs from the San Diego Santa Fe Depot to San Luis Obispo via Union Station in Los Angeles, is the third busiest Amtrak route, and the busiest outside of the Northeast Corridor between Washington D.C. and Boston.
Sprinter is a hybrid rail service operating in the North County area of San Diego County between the cities of Escondido and Oceanside, California, United States. The service uses the 22-mile (35 km) Escondido Subdivision of the San Diego Northern Railroad. Station platforms were constructed for the line's fifteen stations serving the cities of Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, and Escondido. The line provides service to California State University, San Marcos and Palomar College. Sprinter service operates every 30 minutes and is targeted towards students and commuters.
Santa Fe Depot is a union station in San Diego, California, built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to replace the small Victorian-style structure erected in 1887 for the California Southern Railroad Company. The Spanish Colonial Revival style station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a San Diego Historic Landmark. Its architecture, particularly the signature twin domes, is often echoed in the design of modern buildings in downtown San Diego.
Old Town Transit Center, also known as San Diego–Old Town station, or Old Town San Diego station, is an intermodal transportation station in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California. It is served by Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, the COASTER commuter rail service, and the San Diego Trolley, as well as numerous San Diego Metropolitan Transit System bus lines.
The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System is a public transit service provider for San Diego County, California. The agency operates a transit system that includes the San Diego MTS bus system, San Diego Trolley, and Rapid. MTS also controls the San Diego and Arizona Eastern (SD&AE) freight railway and regulates taxicabs, jitneys, and other private for-hire passenger transportation services.
The Blue Line is a 26.3-mile (42.3 km) light rail line in the San Diego Trolley system, operated by San Diego Trolley, Inc., an operating division of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). With an end-to-end travel time of one hour and twenty-three minutes, it operates between UTC Transit Center and San Ysidro Transit Center, the latter of which is at the Mexico–United States border directly adjacent to the San Ysidro Port of Entry, facilitating easy connections across the border. The line serves La Jolla, downtown San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, and San Ysidro and is the system's longest line.
The Orange Line is an 17.1-mile (27.5 km) light rail line in the San Diego Trolley system, operated by San Diego Trolley, Inc. an operating division of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. The route connects downtown San Diego with the cities of Lemon Grove, La Mesa, and El Cajon. The Orange Line has the lowest ridership of the San Diego Trolley's three core lines, transporting 10,896,289 riders during FY 2014 according to the MTS.
Los Peñasquitos Marsh Natural Preserve and Lagoon is a coastal marsh in San Diego County, California, United States situated at the northern edge of the City of San Diego, forming the natural border with Del Mar, California. This bar-built estuary divides a colony of the endangered Torrey pine on a narrow coastal strip. Three streams empty into the lagoon: Carroll Creek, Carmel Creek, and Los Peñasquitos Creek, with a total drainage basin area of 95 square miles.
San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve is one of the largest remaining coastal wetlands in San Diego County, California, United States.
Trestles Bridge, more formally known as Railroad Bridge 207.6 or the San Mateo Creek Bridge, is a low railroad viaduct on the coast of Southern California, in northern San Diego County near its border with Orange County. The bridge lies within San Onofre State Beach and gave its nickname to the famed Trestles surfing site at that beach.
Batiquitos Lagoon State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) is a marine protected area in San Diego on California’s south coast. It is part of Batiquitos Lagoon, a coastal tidal wetland lying within the city limits of Carlsbad, and adjacent to Encinitas. The SMCA covers 2000 miles. It protects marine life by limiting the removal of marine wildlife from within its borders.
The Dumbarton Rail Bridge lies just to the south of the Dumbarton road bridge. Built in 1910, the rail bridge was the first structure to span San Francisco Bay, shortening the rail route between Oakland and San Francisco by 26 miles (42 km). The last freight train traveled over the bridge in 1982, and it has been proposed since 1991 to reactivate passenger train service to relieve traffic on the road bridges, though this would entail a complete replacement of the existing bridge. Part of the western timber trestle approach collapsed in a suspected arson fire in 1998.
The Purple Line is a commuter rail line proposed by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) as part of the San Diego Trolley system. It would run from San Ysidro Transit Center at the Mexico–United States border to Kearny Mesa with a possible extension to Carmel Valley. Most of it would run along a similar route to I-805. The Purple Line could include up to 12 stations, a new maintenance facility, and a storage yard.
Tecolote Road station is a San Diego Trolley station in San Diego, California. The station is located adjacent to the 5 Freeway/Tecolote Road interchange. It was developed as a station for the Mid-Coast Trolley extension project, which is an extension for the Blue Line. The station has 279 parking spaces.
Clairemont Drive station is an at-grade San Diego Trolley station in San Diego, California. The station platform is located on the westside of Morena Boulevard where the tracks are, while the parking structure will be built across the street on the eastside of Morena between Ingulf Street and Clairemont Drive. Service began on November 21, 2021 after the completion of the Blue Line Mid-Coast Trolley extension project.
Balboa Avenue Transit Center is a San Diego Trolley station in San Diego. The station is located along Balboa Avenue between Interstate 5 and Morena Boulevard. Service began on November 21, 2021 after the completion of the Blue Line Mid-Coast Trolley extension project.
UC San Diego Health La Jolla station is a San Diego Trolley station located on the UC San Diego East Campus, which includes the UC San Diego Health La Jolla campus of hospitals and medical facilities and the Preuss School. The station is elevated just south of Voigt Drive at Campus Point Drive.