SUBJECT:

CONSTRUCTION ALERT – Mid-Coast Light Rail Transit Project: Start of Construction

Project Description/Location:

Construction of the Mid-Coast Light Rail Project is scheduled to begin in October of 2016 and continue through 2021. The Mid-Coast Light Rail Project will expand transportation capacity in the I-5 corridor south of campus to accommodate existing and future travel demand, particularly for peak-period commute trips. Once completed, the trolley extension will provide an effective campus commuting alternative, reduce roadway congestion, improve public transit services, and better connect the Mid-Coast corridor with areas of San Diego County served by existing trolley routes.

The trolley extends northward from Old Town along existing railway lines, crosses to the west side of I-5 just south of Nobel Drive, stops at the VA Hospital, then continues on to the UC San Diego campus with a stop in Pepper Canyon. It then crosses back to the east side of I-5 along Voigt Drive with a stop to serve the UC San Diego east campus and Scripps Memorial Hospital, transitions into the median of Genesee Avenue, and continues down Genesee Avenue to the terminus at Westfield UTC transit center. This new service will enhance direct public access to other regional activity centers and improve travel options to employment, education, medical, and retail centers for corridor residents, commuters, and visitors.

While constructing the Mid-Coast Trolley, the contractor, Mid-Coast Transit Constructors (MCTC), will occupy portions of Warren Field, Pepper Canyon, Lyman Lane, Gilman Drive, Voigt Drive, Campus Point Drive and parking lots P701, P702, and P705.

Initial construction activities include fencing construction staging areas, contractor move-in, demolition of existing parking lots, and underground utility work. Construction and staging areas will be established in Pepper Canyon, Warren Field, Voigt Drive and parking lots P701, P702 and P705. These areas are shown in the area map link provided below.

Standard construction hours for the East Campus (UC San Diego Health – La Jolla) will be from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Standard construction hours for the West Campus will be from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday with intermittent Saturday work. Work performed outside of these work hours will need prior approval from an authorized UC San Diego representative.

Immediate Parking Lot, Street Traffic, and Pedestrian Impacts:

Lyman Lane and Warren Field will experience immediate impacts. In Warren Field, chain link fencing is separating the project site from the modified fields that are open for use. Lyman Lane will have intermittent street and pedestrian impacts. Traffic control and flaggers will be in place and temporary throughway accommodations will be provided.

Parking lots P701, P702, and P705 are required to be closed relatively early in the project; however, parking spaces but will remain available as long as safe and until MCTC has required construction activity in the lots. Subsequent notification will be provided immediately upon knowledge of definitive and specific parking lot closure dates. Signage will be also posted in the parking lots detailing proposed closure dates.

Bike lanes will be intermittently impacted as construction progresses, however, traffic control measures will be in place or temporary detours may be added.

Please view area map:
http://go.ucsd.edu/2dNSIdZ

For more project information please view SANDAG’s links at http://www.shiftsandiego.com; http://www.sandag.org/midcoast.

Bus schedule information can be found at http://www.511sd.com/transit.

For future trolley information, view
http://onthego.ucsd.edu/projects/trolley-lrt.html (for best viewing, please use Internet Explorer).

If you have any questions, please contact Project Manager Greg Coghill (gcoghill@ucsd.edu) at (858) 822-6849 or Project Specialist Mary Alice Lorio (mlorio@ucsd.edu) at (858) 534-2981. We greatly appreciate your patience during these construction activities.

Wm. Joel King, AIA Assistant Vice Chancellor Campus Architect