Roads & Infrastructure
The Ardath Road Project
Gears up to Start Construction
The City Council approved the Ardath Road Project on July 22, 2002. This $8.3 million improvement project includes new water and sewer lines within the project area, a road realignment to improve traffic patterns, and landscaping.
Purpose of Project: The primary purpose of this project is to improve traffic flow at Ardath Road and La Jolla Shores Drive. This project will create a new intersection at Ardath and Hidden Valley Roads, allowing drivers to move between Ardath and Torrey Pines Roads without accessing the La Jolla Shores Drive intersection. Improvements to water and sewer lines within the project area are also included in this project. The final phase will be landscaping the project area.
Construction Timeline: During August, supplies and equipment will be delivered to the staging area. Construction is scheduled to begin on September 3, 2002, with water, sewer and roads with the new road scheduled to open by Fall 2003. The construction team’s goal is to reduce their schedule from 18 months to 14. To reduce the construction schedule, some day and night work will be conducted concurrently.
The road realignment will run from September 2002 through September 2003 and work will occur during the day. Shortly after, night time water and sewer work will also begin. Once water and sewer work is complete, the project will return to day work only for the remainder of the road realignment and through the final landscaping phase.
Noise Mitigation: The project team is evaluating noise mitigation options and will continue to do so. They have also applied for a variance from Cal-OSHA to minimize beeping sounds at night. We will continue to report on this item in future newsletters and email updates.
Torrey Pines Trees Update
Care of the Trees: Telliard Construction is the contractor for the removal and replanting of the trees. As part of the requirements for the project, Telliard Construction hired an arborist to advise them on methods for tree removal, replanting, and maintenance as well as to carefully monitor the health of the trees. The same arborist will continue to monitor the trees throughout the life of the project on a weekly basis and is coordinating tree care decisions with the City’s Urban Forester and Resident Engineering teams.
During the removal of the trees, the arborist and project team carefully mapped out the trees’ orientation and slope in relation to one another. This pattern was then re-created with the trees that could be replanted to give these trees familiar patterns to assist in their recovery. The trees’ intertwined root systems were also analyzed prior to removal. This analysis helped the project team make decisions about how to save root systems where possible and which trees to cluster in removal and replanting.
The trees have been treated with fertilizer and sprayed with an insecticide to control bark bores, opportunistic beetles, which develop when trees are under stress. Due to the dry summer season and project rescheduling, a temporary water irrigation system that is monitored by a construction water meter has been installed to replace hand watering. The arborist and tree contractor continue to inspect and check the moisture of the soil as Torrey Pines trees are sensitive to over watering, which is detrimental to their health.
Timing of Removal and Relocation: The Ardath Road Water and Sewer and Road Realignment project was originally scheduled to begin in Spring of 2002. To prepare the area for the roadway, Telliard Construction removed the trees that were in the road realignment project area in mid-November through December, 2001. Unfortunately, the construction timeline was moved back to Fall 2002 in order to access additional funds to cover project cost increases and to pursue noise mitigation measures.
To date nine trees have been planted in their final destinations. As the project proceeds, the team will continue to look for ways to expedite the replanting of the remaining trees, prior to the final landscaping phase.
Current Health Status: Currently, the trees are experiencing shock due to their roots being cut. The amount of root ball taken varied for each tree based on their different locations and proximities to the street and other trees. Shock and natural causes have turned the needles brown. All trees are responding by limiting the water distribution to their extremities, which is causing the needles to turn brown. The arborist has advised us that this is a normal, expected reaction and is an indication that the trees are responding to the change of conditions. Dead, brown needles, and lack of foliage on lower portions of the trees was caused by the close positions of the trees in their original location.
The next step we anticipate is for the brown needles to fall off as part of a seasonal transition from summer to fall. Then, needle regeneration is anticipated later this year. This regeneration will indicate that the trees are recovering from shock.The aborist will be advising the city as the trees move through these stages.
Currently, the project team is identifying and evaluating additional methods to add to their current care of the trees. We will keep you apprised of future developments regarding the Torrey Pines Trees.
Meet The Ardath Road Project Team
The Ardath Road Reconfiguration project team has been finalized and are gearing up to launch construction on September 3, 2002. On behalf of the City of San Diego’s Engineering and Capital Improvements Department, Richard Leja, Senior Project Engineer, will oversee the entire project. Working with him will be Mike Arnold, Project Manager. Brian Bartow, Resident Engineer, will oversee construction at the site, along with Kevin Estrada and Ha Nguyen.
The contract has been awarded to West Coast General Corporation and TC Construction as a joint venture partnership due to the complex nature of the project. West Coast General Corporation will be working on the road configuration and landscaping with TC Construction responsible for the water and sewer work.
West Coast General Corporation will take the lead on the project and will be led by Project Manager Gordon Close. West Coast General Corporation was founded in Lakeside in 1985 and specializes in general engineering, mostly for public works projects. Recent projects include the realignment of North Torrey Pines and Genessee, expansion of the Camp Pendleton Airfield and the widening of Olympic Parkway in Chula Vista.
TC Construction will work on the water and sewer portion of the project and will be led by Wes Wise. TC Construction has been a part of the San Diego construction community for 26 years and recently completed construction on their new facility in Santee. TC Construction has worked on various water and sewer projects throughout San Diego County including the Deerfield Water Plant, Ocean View Hills Pump Station, 711-3 Reservoir for the Otay Water District, as well as storm drain improvements in Coronado.
The construction team understands that Ardath Road is a high traffic area and will work with the community regarding the project’s construction issues. Future newsletters will contain information about noise mitigation solutions and will address additional concerns.
Weekly e-mail updates about the project are also being distributed. Please call (619) 232-2112 if you would like to be added to the e-mail distribution list.
Torrey Pines Water/Sewer Project
Phase 1: Near Completion
Water and Sewer Main Replacement: This project is Phase I of the La Jolla Area Improvement Projects. It placed approximately one-mile of 16-inch water and sewer force main on Torrey Pines Road between Calle De La Plata and Exchange Place. Installation of pipeline along Torrey Pines Road in La Jolla is 100% percent complete. Beginning in early August, the contractor will repave Torrey Pines Road, between Calle De La Plata and Exchange Place. This process will take up to two weeks to complete. Torrey Pines Road will be open while paving is underway; however, there will be lane reductions and heavy equipment in the construction area. Please allow extra time when traveling through the area.
The new water main brings a needed back-up supply of drinking water to the community. The new sewer force main will serve as a backup to Sewer Pump Station 27 and will help to improve the overall efficiency of the area’s wastewater system.
Phase 2: Commencing Design Fall 2002
Water and Sewer Main Replacement: A future phase of drinking water service improvements being planned for La Jolla area residents will include the Torrey Pines Road/La Jolla Boulevard Water Main Replacement Phase II. This project will replace nearly four-miles of existing 16-inch cast iron main installed in the early 1920’s with a new 16-inch PVC main. Scheduled to begin in fall of 2002, this project will include pipeline replacement on Torrey Pines Road, from Exchange Place south to Girard Avenue, then head west on Pearl Street to Fay Avenue where it then heads south to Westbourne Street. On Westborne the pipeline heads west to La Jolla Boulevard and then south to Mesa Way. A final phase extends on La Jolla Boulevard south from Camino de La Costa to Mission Boulevard and ends at Pacific Beach Drive.
Both of these phases are part of the City of San Diego Water Department’s citywide Capital Improvements Program. Water infrastructure improvements (replacements, upgrades and expansions) are underway throughout the City’s water system, including pipelines, water pump stations, reservoirs and treatment plants. These improvements will help ensure a safe and reliable water supply, protecting the region’s job base, environment and overall quality of life for future generations. For more information about these projects, please contact our project hotline at (619) 533-7539.
Upcoming Community Events
Community Meeting, Wednesday August 14, 2002
A community meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 at St. James Hall at 7776 Eads Avenue from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Anyone interested in this project is encouraged to stop by during this time frame to meet the project team, see final design plans for the project and to have questions answered.
For more information about these La Jolla area public improvements please call the Torrey Pines project information hotline at (619) 533-7539.
|
