The North County Transit District and San Diego Association of Governments were awarded a $106 million grant to fund a variety of projects throughout the San Diego region, the agencies announced Tuesday.
The funding from the California Transportation Commission will go toward a $202 million program of projects planned for the San Diego portion of the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) rail corridor.
Those projects include stabilization of the Del Mar Bluffs, construction of the COASTER Convention Center Platform in the Gaslamp area, Phase 1 of the San Dieguito Bridge near the Del Mar Fairgrounds, and rail line improvements on Camp Pendleton.
“We are excited and grateful to the California Transportation Commission for selecting the region’s grant application for funding. The funding will support critical state of good repair and capacity enhancing projects that will increase transit ridership and rail freight movement,” said Tony Kranz, NCTD board chair and Encinitas City Council member. “The funding of these projects will also create local jobs and help boost our economy which has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
NCTD and SANDAG say the trade corridor enhancement grant will support an expansion of COASTER service to the San Diego Convention Center, extension of service to a new Amtrak maintenance facility in National City, increased freight services along the LOSSAN corridor, minimizing rail crossing delays by extending signaling, improving rail speed and coordination with rail crossing gates, and stabilizing 1.7 miles of coastal bluffs in Del Mar,
“This funding is critical to SANDAG’s goal of improving the speed, capacity and safety of rail service along the second-busiest rail corridor in the nation,” said SANDAG Chair and Poway Mayor Steve Vaus. “SANDAG remains fully committed to securing the bluffs in the short-term and identifying a feasible long-term solution for the corridor.”
–City News Service