The Coast News Group
Rendering of double express lanes planned for Interstate 5. Courtesy photo/SANDAG
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SANDAG construction crews continue I-5 median work

ENCINITAS — Construction crews began eight weeks of road work at 7 a.m. on Monday morning to remove existing pavement and vegetation on the inside shoulder in both directions of Interstate 5 between Encinitas and Carlsbad.

Work crews plan to remove the median’s pavement and vegetation, which is cordoned off with concrete barriers, from Manchester Avenue to Palomar Airport Road. The work is scheduled to be completed between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. and between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., excluding Friday nights and weekends.

According to the San Diego Association of Governments, partial lane closures are likely but full freeway closures are not expected to be necessary. Sporadic dust and noise can be expected from the work site as well.

Work crews began preparing the stretch of I-5 for work Dec. 2 by removing freeway striping, restriping the eight-mile section in both directions and adding the concrete barriers.

The project is part of San Diego County’s Build NCC (North Coast Corridor) program, a 40-year, $700 million effort to repair and expand vehicle and rail transportation infrastructure throughout the county.

Once completed, the county anticipates adding a total of 13 miles of new carpool and high- occupancy vehicle freeway lanes, 1 1/2 miles of doubled railroad track, seven miles of bike and pedestrian paths and more than 1,200 acres of restored and preserved coastal habitat land.