The Balboa Avenue off-ramp from northbound I-5 will be closed for at least two upcoming weekends in order to accommodate construction to add a second track to the region’s coastal rail line. This double tracking effort is needed to increase the capacity and efficiency of passenger and freight services.
The closures will begin at 7 p.m. on Fridays and continue through 5 a.m. on Mondays. The first of these closures are scheduled as follows. Friday, Aug. 19, through Monday, Aug. 22 Motorists traveling on northbound I-5 to Morena Boulevard can go around the work area by existing at Clairemont Drive/Mission Bay Drive, head eastbound on Clairemont Drive, then turn right on Denver Street, right on Ingulf Street, and then right onto Morena Boulevard. They can then travel north to Balboa Avenue. Additional full weekend work and off-ramp closures may be necessary to complete the work. SANDAG is spearheading a large scale effort to add a second track to the entire coastal rail corridor within San Diego County. The corridor serves COASTER and AMTRAK passenger trains, as well as freight trains and connects the San Diego region to other counties, including Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. As part of the regionwide double-tracking effort, SANDAG is undertaking the Elvira to Morena double track project. In order to make way for this project, contractors must relocate existing underground water pipes near Balboa Avenue/Garnet Avenue (just east of I-5).
This utility relocation effort has been underway for some time, with much of the work occurring at night. To complete the job as quickly as possible and with minimum disruption to traffic and the surrounding communities, workers need to occasionally close the northbound I-5 off-ramp at Balboa Avenue for entire weekends.
To help the public navigate through construction areas, SANDAG and Caltrans are providing real-time closure information to Waze, a free navigation app for smartphones and tablets.