I-5 Groundbreaking in North San Diego

Good News for San Diego County Commuters - Construction of I-5 Carpool Lane Extension Gets Started

On October 15, 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger was in Solana Beach, along with numerous state and local officials and the Auto Club, for the first groundbreaking ceremony in California for a project funded by the transportation bonds authorized by voters in November 2006 with their approval of Proposition 1B. The project will extend the carpool lanes from just south of the Via de la Valle interchange in the Del Mar area to Manchester Avenue by 2009.

This $56 million project is funded with state bond funds, which are matched by local sales tax funds administered by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). This project is the first stage of a major improvement to the I-5 corridor. The ultimate project will provide four "managed lanes" in the center of I-5 from the I-5/I-805 merge to Vandegrift Boulevard in Oceanside, at an estimated cost of nearly $3 billion. This project will provide additional capacity for congestion relief in this heavily traveled corridor.  Managed lanes are carpool lanes that have transit service and allow non-carpoolers to use them if they pay a toll.