Update: The construction portion of our work is now complete. Our crews will return towards the end of June to finish the remainder of the project.
If you have recently taken a bike ride on the Rose Creek Bikeway segment parallel to the I-5, along Santa Fe Street, you may have noticed the start of construction activities and detours on the path. Our crews are working to upgrade the natural gas system in the area – part of our commitment to provide safe and reliable energy service to our customers.
Construction is taking place on a 1.5-mile stretch of the bikeway between the Santa Fe Park RV Resort (5707 Santa Fe St.) and Aquarium Fish Depot (5121 Santa Fe St), 8 a.m. -3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The project is proceeding north to south and is expected to be completed in June 2022. See project map at the end of the article.
In honor of Bike to Work Day on May 19, construction activities will be halted on that day.
Minimizing impacts
Our project team recognizes Rose Creek is a popular bike path, and we have taken a number of measures to reduce inconveniences for cyclists. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as they move through this area.
- Access to the bike path is being maintained as much as possible, with the support of flaggers who direct bike and vehicle traffic in the sections where cyclists are being detoured.
- On weekdays after construction ends at 3:30 p.m., the path is kept fully open without detours.
- In construction areas, our crews have temporarily installed recessed steel plate covers with asphalt around the edges to create a smooth surface for cyclists.
- Instead of trenching the entire length of the project, crews are boring through the ground to reduce the amount of disruption.
- There is a street sweeper onsite to clear gravel from the bikeway after work concludes each day.
Project overview
The project will remove an outdated natural gas regulator station housed in an underground vault and install a new dual-feed system to prevent future gas service outages in the area. As part of this project, a vault with a metal lid will be removed from the bike path.
In planning the project, engineers have looked for options to avoid construction in the bike path. Unfortunately, due to requirements to maintain a 5-10 feet separation between natural gas, water, telecommunications, sewer and electric utilities, there is no space outside the bike path to conduct the work. The bike path is the only option.
For more information
If you have questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to Christopher Vargas, our City of San Diego municipal infrastructure advisor, at CVargas@sdge.com.
