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This Month

SANDAG newsletter
provides information
on key projects & services
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Quarterly transportation progress report underline spacer
Forums focus on regional
fare structure and pricing underline spacer
511 celebrates 2nd
anniversary
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TransNet Update 2009 underline spacer
FasTrak initiates new
I-15 tolling system
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SANDAG helps San Diego
Stand for Less underline spacer
Actions from the February Board of Directors meeting
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   the rEgion
 

Quarterly transportation progress report

Each quarter, SANDAG issues a transportation progress report to its Board of Directors to keep the members apprised of the many projects underway in the region. By leveraging state, federal, and local TransNet dollars, SANDAG funds transportation improvements and services designed to give commuters more choices and reduce growing traffic congestion. 

Highway ProjectsSANDAG

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in January 2009 for the completion of the I-5/Lomas Santa Fe Drive interchange improvements project in Solana Beach. This project, which also included the HOV lanes between the San Dieguito River and the San Elijo Lagoon that opened to traffic in spring 2008, reconstructed the interchange by re-aligning the ramps and providing more capacity to make it more operationally efficient. This is the first Proposition 1B Corridor Mobility Improvement Account-funded project to break ground and be completed in the state.

Caltrans completed the final environmental document for the SR 76 Middle widening project. Significant progress in the design phase of this TransNet Early Action Program project will allow it to be ready to list for advertisement in June 2009. SANDAG is working with Caltrans to position this project to receive federal economic stimulus funds for the construction phase. Completion of this segment, from Melrose Drive in Oceanside to Mission Road in Bonsall, will widen the roadway from two to four lanes and is expected to be completed by 2010.

Transit and Bikeway ProjectsI-15 Express Lanes

The Sabre Springs/Rancho Peñasquitos transit station, which opened in late September 2008, will be modified over the next few months to provide for an additional 50 to 80 parking spaces. At the time the station opened, approximately 90 parking spaces were made available; however, due to the success of the MTS commuter Express Bus service at this location, the park-and-ride lot is full every morning prior to the arrival of approximately half of the commuter buses. The Rancho Bernardo and Del Lago transit stations opened in March 2009 in conjunction with the opening of the next segment of the I-15 Express Lanes.

Traffic and Demand ManagementFreeway Service Patrol

The Freeway Service Patrol assisted approximately 13,300 motorists, about 19 percent fewer than last quarter.

The vanpool participation rate increased from 641 vanpools to 642 vanpools. Average ridership per vanpool was approximately 8.3 passengers, with 5,322 daily passengers participating in the program.

The 511 call system received 185,200 calls, raising the cumulative call volume to just under 1.4 million calls. Average daily calls have remained above two thousand at approximately 2,010 calls per day. Roadside Assistance calls have risen by 25 percent from last quarter. The 511 Web site hasaveraged approximately 2,670 daily page views, while the traffic site averaged approximately 5,480 views. Although gas prices have decreased sharply from last quarter, daily use of the 511 service has not seen a major decline. The 511 system has continued to be a useful tool for finding alternative forms of transportation and navigating San Diego’s freeways.

Project Manager
Jose Nuncio, Senior Transportation Engineer
Phone: (619) 699-1908, E-mail: jnu@sandag.org