Project Description/Locations:

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), in partnership with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), is proposing a project which, when environmentally cleared and approved, will extend the San Diego Blue Line Trolley from the Santa Fe Depot northerly up to and across UC San Diego to a terminus station at the UTC Transit Center. The project, called the Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project, or LRT, envisions two stations at UC San Diego (one at Pepper Canyon and one near Preuss School/Thornton Hospital and Scripps Hospital). This trolley expansion would include a total of 8 new stations and an option for a 9th station near the VA Medical Center. The San Diego Blue Line Trolley is expected to be operational late 2018 or early 2019. The campus community through workgroups, public meetings, and interested faculty, staff and students has worked closely with SANDAG since 2010 on this new alternative transportation mode that continues to demonstrate UC San Diego’s desire and support for greater sustainability and an improved environment. For additional background on this process and information, see:
http://blink.ucsd.edu/sponsor/VCRMP/LRT/

As part of the LRT planning and project development, SANDAG will have consultants/contractors performing field investigative work in certain areas of the campus. The work will entail crews conducting a process called “utility potholing.” This activity occurs early in the project development to verify existing underground utilities which could affect elements of the engineering. The process will use air vacuum equipment to make a small diameter hole at each location to verify and document the depth and location of existing water and sewer pipelines. The holes will be refilled and the surface restored to prior condition following the process of gathering the data. Where work will be conducted in a street, traffic control will be put into place. Where work will occur behind a curb, pedestrian access may be affected temporarily and measures will be taken to provide advance warning. In addition to the “utility potholing” work, survey crews will be surveying to document existing conditions.

“Utility potholing” work will begin May 27, 2013 and should be finished by June 17, 2013. Surveying activities will take place on various dates between May 27, 2013 and July 1, 2013.

The primary hours of work would be between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.; however, earlier start times or later ending times may occur.

Traffic, Bike Lane, and Pedestrian Impacts:

Traffic control measures will be in place for locations where the work will occur in a street, but no closure of any street will occur, and one lane will remain open in each direction at all times.

Bike lanes could be temporarily impacted by traffic control for the work within a street. The duration for such an impact will be short – typically less than one day.

Pedestrians may be directed to adjacent walkways if work requires such a routing change. The areas impacted by the work will not be simultaneous and each location will be interrupted for a short duration (less than a day).

Please view the area map at:
http://www.fdc.ucsd.edu/alerts/files/SANDAGpotholing.pdf

For more information:

Project information: www.sandag.org/midcoast and
http://blink.ucsd.edu/sponsor/VCRMP/LRT/

Sign up for email notification of Mid-Coast Project updates at
www.sandag.org/midcoast

Project Manager, Engineering: Greg Gastelum, (619) 699-7378 or
greg.gastelum@sandag.org

Consultant Contact: Brad Miller, Lead Engineer, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Millerbm@pbworld.com
(619) 525-8384 (daytime); (760) 809-7122 (after hours)

Bus schedule: 511sd.com/transit

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Facebook: SANDAGregion
Twitter: @SANDAG

M. Boone Hellmann, FAIA Associate Vice Chancellor Campus Architect