DOWNTOWN "QUIET ZONE" UPDATE

Project Description- The Downtown Quiet Zone project will construct safety enhancements at 13 public railroad crossings in downtown San Diego to qualify for a federally designated "Quiet Zone." The crossings run from Laurel Street at the north end of the Quiet Zone to Park Boulevard at the south end.

Project Design- The civil and rail design is underway, in the fourth month of a total of eight months for design. The design is at 25%, with a final 100% design schedule of June 2007. The first 30% of the design represents the greatest time period.

Cost Estimate- The latest cost estimate for the construction is $10,800,000. The majority of the cost represents new, additional, or upgraded railroad equipment- gates, signaling cabinets for heavy and light rail, and ten new or modified traffic signals. CCDC has set aside appropriate redevelopment funds for this project.

On Hold- G Street one-way conversion and environmental City Council approval - The final vote by the Redevelopment Agency/City Council regarding converting G Street to one-way is on hold until the scope of the environmental review is finalized between CCDC and the City of San Diego. Bob Manis, Deputy Director, Development Services, is the lead City representative with Tim Miller, Deputy City Attorney, City Attorney’s office.

NCTD/MTS/City Legal Agreement - represents ѕ’s of Quiet Zone area- The NCTD/MTS/City Legal Agreement is at the final negotiation stage. The major issue being finalized is shared insurance between the parties. The NCTD/MTS/CITY Legal Agreement can be finalized concurrently with the rail design process. Once finalized at staff level, the legal agreement will be routed to the CCDC Board and City Council for review and approval.

BNSF Legal Agreement –All major outstanding issues have been resolved. BNSF is currently working on the cost section of the agreement. Upon completion, the City and CCDC will review and comment to complete the legal agreement at the staff level. The Agreement will then be routed to the CCDC Board and the City Council for review and approval.

Schedule - The current implementation date for the Quiet Zone is spring 2008. In order for the project to maintain this schedule, the project work needs to be bid in summer 2007, start construction in fall 2007, with construction complete and implementation targeted for spring 2008. As the project design moves forward, this schedule will become more defined.

Del Mar Bluffs Stabilization Project- This joint NCTD/SANDAG project is scheduled to start in March 2007, with a 7 to 9 month construction window. The work will close the railroad tracks in the Del Mar area at night, five nights a week, Wednesday to Sunday, from 10 pm to 5 am (in general), At this time, the exact revised train schedule for downtown San Diego has not been determined. Significantly fewer trains will run at night on the five nights a week the tracks are closed, with additional trains running before the 10 p.m. closure.

CONTACT: For questions about the Downtown Quiet Zone project, email: [email protected]

Click here to view March 14, 2007 Update  pdf