I-5 expansion gets big green light

[unhappycamper]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/aug/13/I-5-expansion-widening-north-county-caltrans/



Northbound Interstate 5 traffic in Oceanside, near the California Street bridge, one morning in 2011

I-5 expansion gets big green light
By Chris Nichols
2:54 p.m.Aug. 13, 2014 Updated6:27 p.m.

SAN DIEGO — A plan that would expand North County's Interstate 5 and coastal rail service won unanimous approval from the California Coastal Commission on Wednesday, giving the long-planned and controversial project one of its most important and final victories.

Called the North Coast Corridor program, the $6.5 billion package would add freeway, rail, bicycle, pedestrian and environmental improvements along a 27-mile stretch from La Jolla to Oceanside.

Spanning six cities and six lagoons, the public works project is considered one of the largest and most complex to date for the California Department of Transportation, the agency responsible for building it. Its most debated piece is a four-lane expansion of I-5.

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With the state panel’s 'yes' vote, Caltrans expects to start freeway construction as early as next year, though it would take 30 to 40 years to complete all phases.