"We're not closing any roads, we'll always have a lane open in each direction at all times," Greg Gomez said in September. He is the project manager from Kleinfelder, the engineering and construction management firm working for the City of Solana Beach, and he was speaking to the City Council, as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune.
As of this week, that promise covers a working site. The Lomas Santa Fe Corridor East Improvements Project started on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and runs from Santa Helena Drive east to Highland Drive, the city's eastern edge where the road heads toward Rancho Santa Fe. The city's project page expects completion in Fall 2027. On the road that connects I-5, the coast and the Vons at Lomas Santa Fe Plaza, the construction zone keeps business hours, it starts at the far end from the freeway, and it stops around Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Del Mar Fair.
The work zone runs for less than a third of the week
The posted hours are 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except city holidays. That adds up to 47.5 hours in a 168-hour week, or roughly 28 percent of it. The city also says there will be no construction during the Del Mar Fair or around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and any work outside those hours needs city approval.
| When you're driving | What the project schedule says |
|---|---|
| Weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Active work hours; expect temporary lane closures, traffic control and delays |
| Weekday evenings and early mornings | Outside posted hours; any work needs city approval |
| Saturdays and Sundays | Outside posted hours |
| City holidays | No scheduled work |
| Around Thanksgiving and Christmas | No construction planned |
| Del Mar Fair | No construction planned |
Off-hours doesn't promise a cone-free street. The city says crews will install traffic control devices, including cones and signs, throughout the project area. What the posted hours limit is the active work. Even during work hours, Gomez's commitment means at least one lane stays open in each direction.
Because of the pause around Thanksgiving and Christmas, the corridor's quietest construction stretch of the year lines up with the holidays. Some of the city's own holiday events happen on weekends, too. The free holiday tree lighting at La Colonia Park, 715 Valley Avenue, is Sunday, Dec. 13, from 5 to 7 p.m., with Santa due at 5:20.
The work starts at the Rancho Santa Fe end
The project is built in three phases, moving east to west. That means the first sustained work lands near Highland Drive, the end of the corridor closest to Rancho Santa Fe. Neighbors near Santa Helena and the I-5 interchange are last in line.
The west end is where the corridor's shopping center sits. Lomas Santa Fe Plaza, at 905 to 993 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, describes itself as just east of I-5, and its driveway sits in the Santa Helena section of the corridor. The center's directory includes Vons, Starbucks, Our Green Affair Cafe, Colosseo Cucina Italiana, Samurai Japanese Restaurant, Primos Mexican Food, The Habit Burger Grill and Dave's Hot Chicken. The city hasn't published block-by-block dates for each phase. So nobody can say yet which month the Santa Helena end gets its turn, only that the order puts it last.
For every business along the route, the city says it will keep access to homes and businesses open whenever possible and give advance notice of temporary restrictions as far as it can.
Inside each phase, the order is set
City Engineer Austin Frisby described the sequence to the council, according to the Union-Tribune:
- Raised medians, planted with native drought-tolerant landscaping.
- New sidewalk on the south side of Lomas Santa Fe.
- Roadway work on the north side, which adds a 0.93-mile multi-use trail, described as similar to the Coastal Rail Trail.
That order tells you which side of the street to expect activity on. Early on, the work sits in the middle of the road. After that it moves to the south curb. The north side, where the trail goes, comes last.
Bike and foot traffic gets similar treatment. The city says there may be temporary pedestrian or bicycle detours in active work areas, and changes will be signed and announced as construction moves along. Kleinfelder will keep a full-time construction manager on site focused on safety and communication. The city's outreach plan includes construction notices and large digital message boards.
Two places where the effects reach off the main road
The schedule is easy on most drivers. Two groups feel more of it.
Via Mil Cumbres residents will be detoured to one of two exit routes during two brief work phases, the Union-Tribune reported.
Sun Valley Road came up in public comment. According to the same Union-Tribune account, speakers worried about long delays and about drivers cutting through parallel neighborhood streets, naming Sun Valley Road. That street is also home to the public 18-hole Lomas Santa Fe Executive Golf Course, at 1580 Sun Valley Road. The course's address puts it off the project roadway, not inside the work limits. A weekday tee time still means using the street where people expected diverted traffic to end up. The city says all traffic changes are subject to an approved traffic control plan. Traffic impacts will be posted on the project page as information becomes available.
The road waiting on the other side
The patience pays for a street that's been in the works for close to a decade. The corridor study goes back to 2017. The council removed roundabouts from consideration in September 2018. The city calls Lomas Santa Fe its primary east-west arterial, linking schools, parks, the library, transit and shopping.
When it's finished, the stretch from Santa Helena to Highland will have:
- Two travel lanes in each direction, separated by raised, landscaped medians
- Class II bike lanes in both directions
- A multi-use path on the north side and a sidewalk on the south side
- New decorative walls with seating areas and trash and recycling bins
- A decorative retaining wall near Santa Helena and Las Banderas
- ADA-compliant curb ramps, storm drain and water-quality upgrades, and changes to signals and striping
City Manager Alyssa Muto summed up the finished street for the council as "a wonderful roadway with two lanes in each direction, some beautiful medians, some bike lanes and a lovely multi-use path with vegetation," per the Union-Tribune. Douglas Alden, chair of BikeWalkSolana, has followed the project since 2017. He told the paper, "It's going to be a little bit of pain but a lot to gain."
The city's August announcement puts the budget at $7.4 million. Most of it comes from a $7 million Community Project Funding grant secured by Congressman Mike Levin, with the rest from the city's Transportation Impact Fee and Measure S funds. The council approved a contract with Tri-Group Construction and Development in May: $6,740,708 for construction, plus a $675,000 contingency, with the work estimated at 220 working days. The city's fact sheet gives the construction window as "October 2026 thru Late Summer 2027," and the project page now says Fall 2027.
Phase dates and lane closures will show up on the city's own channels first. You can sign up for project email updates, check the project page, call the project helpline at (858) 723-8511, or write to [email protected].
At White Label Home Collective, we follow changes like the Lomas Santa Fe work because they shape everyday life between Solana Beach and Rancho Santa Fe. If you'd like to talk about how the corridor's timeline fits your own plans, schedule a private, white-glove consultation.
