SR56 On Its Way

by Scott Peters
December 2003

In my conversations over the last several months with families in Rancho Penasquitos and Torrey Highlands a recurring topic is always the completion of the SR56 freeway. Many folks worry that although our progress has been good, the precarious nature of the state budget might put a stop to construction. I want to assure everyone that although we at the local level are also worried about the state budget, we are still on track to complete the SR56 freeway in July of 2004.

When Mayor Murphy, Councilman Maienschein and I took office we made SR56 our top transportation priority. We formed the Freeway Congestion Strike Team to focus on this and other traffic issues, and made a plan to complete the SR56 by the summer of 2004. We pushed hard at SANDAG (the regional transportation planning agency) to reach an agreement that makes SR56 the number one road priority in the region. This means that SR56 would be the absolute last project to lose funding. Today, three years later, despite state and local budget challenges, we are still on schedule to open in July 2004. The grading is now taking place, with key bridges across almost complete.

Additionally, under the phasing plans now in place, the opening of SR 56 will allow the completion of other important connections for I-15 corridor communities. Soon after the opening of the SR56, we will turn our attention to the Carmel Valley Road connection to Del Mar Heights Road in the west and the Black Mountain Road connection to Camino Del Norte in the North, giving access to Rancho Bernardo and an alternate route to the I-15 freeway. These important connections will provide families access to shopping and entertainment without always having to get on to busy freeways. Some of the work has already been completed on these connectors and we hope to open them soon after the SR56 opening.

We have also made opening the on and off-ramps to the SR56 a priority. The rules of highway construction require CalTrans to build the highway, but local jurisdictions remain responsible for building the connector ramps. The funding for this construction comes from developer fees that are collected as homes are built in the area. The funding timeline for connector ramps at Camino Del Sur had set them to open in 2006. I found this unworkable because we knew that this would cause significant hardship for people living on Black Mountain Road, students at Westview High School and all of the new residents of Torrey Highlands. Through a creative public / private partnership, we were able to work with several of the developers in the area to complete the Camino Del Sur interchange 3 years ahead of schedule.

Our next task was to make sure that westbound on-ramps and eastbound off-ramps at Camino Del Sur were available when the highway opens in July. And I am pleased to report that we have worked out a cooperative agreement with CalTrans that will not only get the ramps built in time for the highway opening but will save the project $2.2 million. By utilizing the CalTrans crews already on site we will maximize our time and money in getting these important ramps completed.

The "Play Day on the 56" bike ride that celebrated the opening of the Camino Del Sur interchange and the new section of SR56 was a wonderful way to mark the opening of these important pieces of our transportation infrastructure. We have already begun to plan the next event for this summer, when I look forward to seeing you all out there for the opening of this long awaited highway project.