Bear Valley Parkway North Widening Improvements

The completion of this regionally significant project provides a much needed improved access to State Route 78 and Interstate 15 for residents and businesses in north county San Diego. Improving Bear Valley Parkway is an important step in the sustained economic growth for the community. Residents and businesses are now able to move faster and more freely between places of employment, schools, and home and to other close by attractions such as the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Kit Carson Park, and Lake Wohlford. Prior to construction of this project, the mile long section of Bear Valley Parkway between SR 78 and Boyle Avenue was a 2-lane rural road with no sidewalks, no bike lanes, poor drainage, and poor visual esthetics due to the abundance of overhead utility lines poles. The one-mile long Bear Valley Parkway North Widening Improvements Project widened the existing two-lane 24-foot wide road to a four-lane 90-foot wide major roadway. Bike lanes, sidewalks, landscaped medians and parkways, drainage improvements, water and gas line upgrades, and new traffic signals at realigned intersections were also installed. The new roadway conforms to the County’s General Plan Mobility Element classification as a Major Road and Bicycle Route. Overhead utilities were removed and installed underground. Water efficient irrigation and native trees and plants were also part of the improvements. The community benefits of the improvements to Bear Valley Parkway include: 1) Reduced traffic congestion and improved traffic flow for commuters resulting in better air quality; 2) Reduced traffic noise by use of environmentally friendly rubberized asphalt, recycling 10,000 tires that would have ended up in a landfill; 3)Better air quality as a result of the reduced traffic congestion; 4) Intersection enhancements that provide improved safety for motorists and pedestrians including new signalized intersections, crosswalks, and pedestrian ramps; 5) Addition of over 10,000 feet of new sidewalk for pedestrians; 6) Improved bicyclist safety with new designated 5-ft Class II bike lanes in each direction; 7) Undergrounding of over 8,000 feet of overhead utility lines; 8)Enhanced Traffic Safety by adding over 6,000 feet of stormwater conveyance systems; 9)Over 8,000 feet of drought tolerant landscaping and water efficient irrigation to enhance the community character and to keep in line with stringent water conservation measures; 10)Planting of over 100 new native trees to compliment the semi-rural surroundings and; 11)Installation of over 3,500 feet of bioretention/biofiltration system to treat and improve the water quality of runoff from the new roadway.