The City of San Diego is advising visitors about traffic impacts in Downtown and Barrio Logan as work on an underground sewer project along Harbor Drive prepares to move to a new phase. Anyone heading to the Embarcadero or harbor areas, including Petco Park, the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park and the Convention Center, is encouraged to plan ahead, allow extra time, find alternate routes or use public transportation.

This critical $42.2 million project is replacing and upsizing more than 4,000 linear feet of trunk sewer main, which is a large diameter sewer pipeline, along Harbor Drive from Park Boulevard to Beardsley Street. The new main, which will replace the existing main that was installed back in 1941 and rehabilitated in 1979, will provide renewed infrastructure for the area to support additional and projected sewage flows.

The construction of the Harbor Drive Trunk Sewer project is taking place in four phases:

• Phase 1 – Performing geotechnical and subsurface investigations of the project alignment along Harbor Drive.
• Phase 2 – Installing new sewer mains along Park Boulevard from Harbor Drive to Imperial Avenue and Imperial Avenue from Park Boulevard to 12^th Avenue.
• Phase 3 – Installing new sewer mains and steel carrier pipes under the railway crossings on Park Boulevard between Tony Gwynn Drive and Harbor Drive.
• Phase 4 – Installing new sewer mains and steel carrier pipes along Harbor Drive between Park Boulevard and Beardsley Street.

Phases 1, 2 and 3 are currently in progress, while Phase 4 is expected to begin in the next few months. The entire project is expected to be completed in early 2025.

Currently, traffic in both directions on Harbor Drive from Park Boulevard to Beardsley Street is reduced to one lane and the southside sidewalk is closed. When Phase 4 begins, all southbound vehicle and bicycle lanes will be closed to allow for tunneling operations. All traffic will be moved to the two northbound lanes, with one lane of shared vehicle and bicycle traffic in each direction.

Access for area businesses and residents will be maintained, but traffic delays are expected. Commuters are advised to use alternate routes around the construction area or use public transportation. The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) has several options that are just a short walk from the impacted area, including the 12^th & Imperial Trolley Station with access to all three trolley lines and the Green Line Trolley’s Gaslamp Quarter Station, as well as several bus routes. For more information on MTS services, visit the MTS trip planner.

To ensure everyone’s safety, drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians should follow all posted signage and detours. Traffic control officers will help direct the flow of traffic during events in the area. Access for emergency vehicles will be maintained at all times. For more information, visit the project webpage.