Ground was broken Sunday for the Mid-Coast Trolley extension project, with thousands of people on hand to celebrate the start of construction for the project that will extend trolley service to UC San Diego and University City.
A community picnic was held on the field at Preuss School UCSD near the future site of the Voigt Drive trolley station.
“Today is a historic day for San Diego transit. The start of construction for the Mid-Coast Trolley project represents the culmination of more than two decades of work to expand light rail service to what I would call the second downtown of our region, the University City area, where we have some of the densest clusters of employers and jobs,” said Ron Roberts, chairman of the San Diego Association of Governments and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
“Tens of thousands of people are going to benefit from this project, as it will give them the option to leave their car home and take the trolley to work, school, shop or to visit one of the many medical facilities,” Roberts said.
It’s starting! @SANDAG breaks ground on @MidCoastTrolley. Light rail is on its way to @UCSanDiego @VASanDiego & @WestfieldUTC. #GoMidCoast pic.twitter.com/7wAZTrYGN9
— Todd Gloria (@ToddGloria) October 22, 2016
The $2.1 billion project will extend the existing Blue Line by 11 miles north of Old Town, adding nine new stations serving Mission Bay Park, Pacific Beach and Mission Beach, the VA Medical Center, UC San Diego, business clusters along Genesee Avenue, and the Westfield UTC mall.
Once the extension is built, transit riders will be able to ride from San Ysidro to University City without having to transfer. Planners estimate that the project will attract more than 20,000 new trolley trips every weekday north of Old Town.
“I know I speak for the entire medical community when I say that the extended trolley service from Old Town will bring an important and welcome convenience for physicians, staff, our patients, and their families and visitors,” Rose Colangelo, a nurse at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla said.
Pre-construction activities to clear the way for the project such as the relocation of underground and overhead utilities, started in early 2016. Primary construction was set to begin this month, with service scheduled to start in 2021.
— City News Service
