If you've driven Lomas Santa Fe Drive east of the freeway in the past two weeks, you've seen the cones and the new signs. You may also have wondered whether the road will come out of this narrower than it went in. It won't. The City of Solana Beach started work on the Lomas Santa Fe Corridor – East Improvements Project on Tuesday, Oct. 13. It covers the stretch from Santa Helena Drive to Highland Drive, and the finished road still has two lanes in each direction. The lane count was decided eight years ago. Everything being built between now and next fall goes in the median, along the curbs, and onto the shoulders on both sides.
That changes what's worth paying attention to. Commute times won't be very different when the work is done. Getting around on foot or by bike will be, and so will how the street looks. Your trips will be affected mostly by the order the crews work in.
The argument ended in 2018
The current plans come out of a decade of meetings. A May 27, 2026 City Council presentation lays out the history:
| Period | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2015–2016 | Comprehensive Active Transportation Strategy, planning and data collection |
| 2017–2018 | Corridor walk and workshops. Council directs the design to keep four travel lanes and drop roundabouts |
| 2019–2021 | Council approves a final design contract |
| 2023–2024 | Project split into East and West phases, with a $7 million federal grant for the East. Council approves the bid package, and Caltrans coordination follows |
| 2025 | Community open house in August, plus Caltrans updates and council design approval |
| 2026 | East construction contract awarded. A $3.5 million SANDAG grant covers the West |
| Fall 2027 | East construction expected to finish |
The roundabout question is settled in writing. The City's corridor page says that "as directed by the City Council at the meeting in September 2018, all roundabouts have been removed from the project." Once the four lanes were locked in, the only open design question was how to use the space beside them. The final design plans, dated December 2021, are still posted on the City's corridor page for anyone who wants to see the drawings sheet by sheet.
Some residents have followed the whole process. Douglas Alden, chair of BikeWalkSolana, has been involved since 2017. He told the San Diego Union-Tribune in September, "It's going to be a little bit of pain but a lot to gain."
What's going in beside the lanes
The City's project page lists the full scope:
- Reconstructed roadway and new pavement
- Raised medians planted with native, drought-tolerant landscaping
- Class II bike lanes in both directions
- A new multi-use path on the north side and a new sidewalk on the south side
- Decorative walls with seating areas, plus trash and recycling bins
- ADA-compliant curb ramps
- Storm drain and water-quality upgrades
- New signing, striping and traffic signal changes
The north-side path is the biggest change to daily routines. City Engineer Austin Frisby told the Union-Tribune it will add 0.93 miles of multi-use trail, which he compared to the Coastal Rail Trail. A new decorative retaining wall will go in near Santa Helena and Las Banderas, at the west end of the project. City Manager Alyssa Muto described the result in the same article:
"On the other side (of the construction) will be a wonderful roadway with two lanes in each direction, some beautiful medians, some bike lanes and a lovely multi-use path with vegetation."
At the west end are Lomas Santa Fe Plaza, at 905–993 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, and the stretch past it toward Santa Helena. A 2019 City focus-area sheet covered the section from Santa Helena east to the Plaza's driveway. Farther east, Lomas Santa Fe Country Club lists its address as 1505 Lomas Santa Fe Drive. When the work is done, a walk or ride between those places will be on a dedicated path or sidewalk.
Why the crews start in the middle of the road
Since the lanes aren't changing, the project could be built in a sequence that always leaves traffic room to move. The City says construction comes in three phases, working from east to west, starting near Highland and moving toward Santa Helena. Frisby described the order of work to the Union-Tribune:
- Raised medians first
- The new south-side sidewalk next
- The north-side roadway work and the multi-use path last
Starting with the medians lets crews build down the center while both directions keep moving on either side. The north side comes last because the path is the largest single piece of new construction. Greg Gomez, project manager with Kleinfelder, the City's engineering and construction management firm, explained the rule in the same article: "We're not closing any roads, we'll always have a lane open in each direction at all times." According to the May 27 staff report, the construction contract went to Tri-Group Construction and Development, Inc., and Kleinfelder handles construction management and inspection.
The City hasn't posted dates for each phase. For now its update says crews are setting up cones and signs, surveying, and potholing, which means digging small, controlled test holes to find the water, gas and electrical lines under the street.
The calendar around the cones
Some limits are already set, and they help with planning around the work. Crews work Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except on city holidays. The City also says there will be no construction during the Del Mar Fair or around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Thanksgiving is four weeks away, so the first pause comes soon after work began. The City hasn't said exactly when each pause starts or ends.
Two groups will notice the work more than most:
- Via Mil Cumbres residents. The Union-Tribune reported that during two brief work phases, residents of that community will be sent to one of two available exit routes. The City hasn't published the routes or the dates yet.
- Neighbors on parallel streets. In public comments to the council, people raised concerns about long delays during the roughly 14-month job and about drivers cutting through streets such as Sun Valley Road.
The City and Kleinfelder have committed to a full-time construction manager on site, large digital message boards, construction notices and a helpline. The project helpline is (858) 723-8511, and the project email is [email protected]. The City also runs an email sign-up for project updates, which is likely where phase dates and detour notices will show up first.
The end date has already moved once. In mid-September the Union-Tribune reported an Oct. 5 start and work lasting through summer 2027. The City's project page now gives Oct. 13 as the start and Fall 2027 as the expected finish. Any planning should use the City's current estimate, with room for it to change again.
Who's paying, and why the number varies
The City lists the project cost as $7.5 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 Measure S funds and Transportation Impact Fee funds. The May staff report shows a larger total, $8,578,944, because it adds contingency and professional services to the construction cost. Both numbers are correct. They count different things.
The other half is still on paper
The work started this month covers only part of the corridor. The full study area runs from Sierra Avenue, west of Highway 101, where the road is called Plaza Street, east to Highland Drive at the city line. The City calls the East project the first phase of the Lomas Santa Fe Corridor Improvements. The West segment has its own $3.5 million SANDAG grant and is still in design. The May 27 presentation gives no construction start date for it.
So when the medians, path and bike lanes are finished east of Santa Helena next fall, the stretch west of there will still look the way it does now. The new layout will end at Santa Helena until the West segment gets a construction schedule, and that schedule doesn't exist yet.
If you own a home, condo or rental near the Lomas Santa Fe corridor, a year of construction affects when you might list, lease or start a remodel. Ron and Julia at Fontaine Realty Group can walk you through how the project's phases might line up with your own timeline. Contact Us.
