Six-day partial closure to set mega-ton girders across intersection
La Jolla CA— Starting Friday night, crews will close the east-west access of La Jolla Village Drive at Genesee Avenue in University City to set 60-foot-long concrete girders – weighing up to 200,000 pounds. Girders are large beams that will form the elevated guideway on which the Trolley will run.
Crews will hoist the precast girders using cranes and set the girders on the columns that have been built at the intersection to support the under-construction elevated Trolley line. The girders are being trucked from Riverside to the site on special industrial trucks built to withstand extra-heavy loads.
Motorists will be able to take right-hand turns onto Genesee Avenue, but will not be able to drive under the Trolley line until the girders are set and the concrete is cured and dried. Genesee Avenue will be limited to one lane in each direction throughout the weekend.
“We know this is an inconvenience and thank the community for their patience and perseverance while the Trolley extension is under construction,” said SANDAG Chair and Poway Mayor Steve Vaus. “Once all the aerial work is done, the traffic patterns will get back to normal, and in a couple of years, people will be riding the Trolley.”
On Saturday morning the girders will be set in place. On Monday morning, two lanes will be open on Genesee Avenue. La Jolla Village Drive is expected to reopen in the early morning on Friday, February 15.
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 in order to help motorists plan.
More than 44,000 motorists pass through this intersection during the weekdays, according to the City of San Diego.
Girders have been installed across four intersections along Genesee Avenue. La Jolla Village Drive is the fifth and last intersection that will require a long-term closure.
The partial closures are scheduled as follows:
Weekend closure from 9 p.m. on Friday, February 8, to 5 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 11:
- 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
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
*These 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.