La Jolla Village Drive was reopened on Thursday morning—a day ahead of schedule—when crews completed installing giant concrete girders for the Blue Line Trolley extension.
Last Friday, construction crews closed the major thoroughfare at Genesee Avenue in University City to set 60- to 70-foot-long concrete girders, which will form the elevated guideway on which the Mid-Coast Trolley will run.
Crews successfully set the 95-ton precast girders using a crane. High-strength steel cables were then installed and tensioned inside the beams. The concrete hardened and gained strength faster than anticipated and crews confidently reopened the intersection to traffic a day ahead of schedule on early Thursday morning.
The Mid-Coast Trolley Project will extend Blue Line Trolley service from Old Town north to the University City, 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.
