Oceanside CA— The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is tentatively scheduled to begin removing sediment in September from approximately two miles of the lower San Luis Rey River to increase water flow capacity in the event of major storms. The USACE will transport and place material that is classified as “beach quality” sand between Seagaze and Pine Streets and from Oceanside Boulevard to Buccaneer Beach in the coming months. The contract calls for the removal of approximately 400,000 cubic yards of material from the river. Beach quality sand will be placed south of the Oceanside pier. The remaining material will be transported to El Corazon compost facility.
The project was originally set for October of 2016 but difficulty in obtaining some of the required permits pushed the potential start back. As a result, USACE faced a reduced timeframe to complete the work, and to have had the contractor mobilize, work, demobilize and then return this year to complete the project would have been too costly.
For safety reasons, the sediment removal project will temporarily close a stretch of the San Luis Rey Bicycle/Pedestrian Trail from Foussat Road to Douglas Drive beginning September 18, 2017 and the closure is expected to last through March of 2018. Some prep work (vegetation clearing for access roads) will be taking place the week before.
Trail users traveling westbound will initially encounter the closure/detour starting at Douglas Drive. The detour will direct traffic south on Douglas Drive, west on Pala Road, south on Los Arbolitos Boulevard, south on Fireside Street, west on Mission Avenue, along the old Drive-in and then north on Foussat Road where the trail can be accessed again.