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| I-5/SR-56
Proposed Connectors |
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About SR-56 Connectors
The Completion of State Route 56
A Key to Solving Traffic Congestion in the
San Diego Region
Freeway traffic flow in San Diego County is plagued by a lack of
east-west freeways. The congestion along major traffic arteries in
San Diego is complicated by the fact that thousands of motorists
must travel north and south to eventually arrive at their east-west
destinations.
One potential solution to the lack of east-west connecting
freeways lies in the completion of State Route 56 (SR-56), which
will link businesses and residential communities on either side of
the northern part of the City of San Diego. SR-56 currently is
under construction and is expected to be completed by mid-2004.
A completed SR-56 project will help create a smooth transition
between Interstate 15 (I-15) and Interstate 5 (I-5), relieving
traffic congestion on both of these north-south freeways, the two
major freeways that link Southern California to the Mexican
border.
SR-56, a much-needed solution to one aspect of San Diego's
traffic problems, faces an additional challenge. As part of the
construction of SR-56, Caltrans — the state transportation
agency — is building all the links connecting SR-56 with
I-15, and already has built two of the four needed connectors
between SR-56 and I-5 — west to south and north to east.
However, only $3.5 million has been appropriated to build the west
to north and south to east SR-56/I-5 connectors ($2 million in
Fiscal Year 2002-2003 and $1.5 million in Fiscal Year 2003-2004).
Without these two missing links, drivers would be forced to utilize
local residential streets to complete their travel between these
two major interstate highways. This traffic pattern will be
disruptive to the community and will create unsafe traffic
conditions and a very inefficient traffic flow.
Smart Growth and the
Connectors
Additionally, completion of the I-5/SR-56 missing connectors will
be necessary to implement the carefully planned smart-growth land
use scenario for the North City Future Urbanizing Area (NCFUA). The
NCFUA is near the I-5/SR-56 interchange, and will include
employment centers and residential densities that will be
substantially higher than nearby communities.
The NCFUA neighborhoods will have 35 miles of trails and bicycle
lanes, two transit centers and four miles of dedicated transit
right-of way. Fifty percent of the land will be set aside for open
space, and 20 percent of the housing will be affordable to families
earning 65 percent or less of the area median income.
If the missing connectors aren't under construction later in
this decade, growth will be forced to move out to other San Diego
cities, to the unincorporated county, to south Riverside County or
even to Tijuana. Approximately 6,500 residential units (including
more than 1,000 “affordable” homes) and at least 17,000
people will need to be accommodated elsewhere. Regardless of how
much further out it pushes, future growth will require additional
infrastructure. This could include the need to build more lanes on
I-15, I-805, and I-5 and could even result in more transit miles
for commuters. Either of those outcomes will occur at a far greater
expense than building the missing connectors.
Funding Alternatives
Caltrans, along with SANDAG — the local council of
governments agency — has been studying potential solutions to
this problem since 1998. Caltrans issued its Project Study Report
(PSR) in December 2000, and the PSR shows a design that
incorporates additional lanes on I-5 and a freeway-to-freeway
connector system. The cost of this project is now estimated at $140
million. We are requesting 80 percent ($112 million) of this
funding as part of the 2003 highway reauthorization bill. The
remaining 20 percent ($28 million) will be provided by a
combination of local, regional and state funds.
To assist with the design of this project, Congress appropriated
$2 million in the Fiscal Year 2002 Transportation Appropriation Act
for the preparation of a Project Report and Environmental Document
(PRED). In Fiscal Year 2003, Congress appropriated $1.5 million for
preliminary feasibility studies and engineering for utilities
relocation to accommodate the SR-56/I-5 connectors. In addition,
SANDAG, in its most recent study — MOBILITY 2030, San Diego's
Regional Transportation Plan — has identified the connectors
as essential to the completion of the region's highway and freeway
system. (See charts from MOBILITY 2030 on the following pages.)
Under the Reasonably Expected Revenue Scenario, the
freeway-to-freeway connectors could be built by 2010 — six
years after the opening of State Route 56. This scenario assumes
both current sources of transportation revenue as well as future
revenue sources such as an extension of the local TransNet
transportation sales tax measure, set to expire in 2008, and
obtaining additional federal and state funding.
Under the Revenue Constrained Scenario alternative, funding is
based only on current sources and levels of federal, state and
local transportation revenue projected out to the year 2030.
Failure to take action in the future — such as extending the
TransNet sales tax program beyond 2008 and securing additional
federal and state funding — could result in the connectors
being delayed until 2014. Thus, it is possible that absent
additional funding, there could be an additional four-year delay in
providing these needed connectors.
In both scenarios, SANDAG acknowledges and confirms the need for
these important connectors.
In summary, local governments and community leaders in the San
Diego region are requesting $112 million in federal funding (plus
$28 million in state and local matching funds) for the construction
of the missing freeway-to-freeway connectors between SR-56 and I-5.
The benefits of this project include:
- A smooth transition of traffic between I-5 and
I-15 with the aid of the SR-56 link, one of the region's few
east-west freeways.
- Elimination of congestive surface traffic that
will pass through communities adjacent to the “missing”
freeway-to-freeway links.
- Improved safety by eliminating through traffic on
local residential streets and highways.
- Safer and swifter traffic movement on I-5 and on
I-15, thus vastly improving “NAFTA” truck movement
between Orange, Riverside and Los Angeles Counties and the Mexican
border.
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