Halfway Through Six-Day Partial Road Closure for Mid-Coast Trolley Construction
La Jolla CA— Last Friday night, crews closed La Jolla Village Drive to thru traffic at Genesee Avenue in University City to set 60-foot-long concrete girders, or beams, to construct the elevated guideway for the future Mid-Coast Trolley.
As shown in the above time lapse video, crews hoisted the 95-ton precast girders using a crane and set the girders on the columns that were built at the intersection. The girders were trucked from Riverside on special industrial trucks built to withstand extra-heavy loads.
Over the next several days the concrete will continue hardening and gaining strength. This week, high-strength steel cables will be installed and tensioned inside the beams, allowing support towers in the intersection to be removed and the intersection to be opened by 5 a.m. Friday, February 15.
Monday morning, two lanes opened on Genesee Avenue. More than 44,000 motorists pass through this intersection during the weekdays, according to the City of San Diego.
The partial closures are as follows:
Weekdays Monday, Feb. 11 to Thursday, Feb. 14, from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day:
· La Jolla Village Drive through lanes closed, right-hand turns onto Genesee maintained
· Two lanes open on southbound Genesee Avenue
· Two lanes open on northbound Genesee Avenue
Weeknights Monday, Feb. 11 to Friday, Feb. 15, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.:
· La Jolla Village Drive through lanes closed, right-hand turn onto northbound Genesee Avenue
· Southbound Genesee Avenue closed
· One lane open on northbound Genesee Avenue
Detours have been designed to lead motorists around the impacted intersections. Signs warning of the partial closure were installed throughout the area three weeks ago and along Interstates 5 and 805 last week to help motorists plan. Closures are subject to change.
The Mid-Coast Trolley Project will extend Blue Line Trolley service from Old Town north to the University City community, serving major activity centers such as Mission Bay Park, the VA Medical Center, UC San Diego, and Westfield UTC. Nine new stations will be constructed. Major construction work began in 2016, with service anticipated to begin in 2021.
To learn more, visit KeepSanDiegoMoving.com/MidCoast.