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CA 11 Tollway begins in San Diego

Started by ARMOURERERIC, December 10, 2013, 04:14:29 PM

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ARMOURERERIC



andy3175

#1
Noteworthy in the local media is that the project is slated to be completed in three phases, with the initial phase to connect SR 905 with Enrico Fermi Drive at a cost of $112 million. Future phases will bring the tolled freeway east to a new border crossing that is to be constructed.

Regards,
Andy
Regards,
Andy

www.aaroads.com

emory

Anyone know how the last leg of CA 125 is coming along?

jrouse

Quote from: emory on December 11, 2013, 06:41:00 AM
Anyone know how the last leg of CA 125 is coming along?

I believe it will be built in one of the phases of the Route 11 project.

vdeane

Quote from: emory on December 11, 2013, 06:41:00 AM
Anyone know how the last leg of CA 125 is coming along?
I assume you mean the non-interchange with CA 905?
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

Henry

Quote from: vdeane on December 11, 2013, 11:56:00 AM
Quote from: emory on December 11, 2013, 06:41:00 AM
Anyone know how the last leg of CA 125 is coming along?
I assume you mean the non-interchange with CA 905?
Probably the final thing that needs to be fixed before that route can become I-905, along with the Interstate upgrade all the way through.
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

NE2

Uh what? What does completing SR 125 have to do with SR 905 becoming I-905?
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

mrsman

If anybody knows more about why 905 and 125 were never connected, I'd like to know.

It seems odd that such relatively recent roads should have a non-connection like this.  Historically, there was always some infighting between state DOTs and toll road authorities over which agency should be responsible for connecting the two highways, so often each agency would make their own ramp and provide a connection via surface streets.  This is especially true along the Penn Turnpike (Breezewood).

From looking at Google Maps satellite view, it seems that there was a better connection from 125 to the border before the 905 freeway construction.

NE2

Quote from: mrsman on December 20, 2013, 01:59:37 PM
If anybody knows more about why 905 and 125 were never connected, I'd like to know.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

TheStranger

Quote from: mrsman on December 20, 2013, 01:59:37 PM
If anybody knows more about why 905 and 125 were never connected, I'd like to know.


From CAHighways...

Here's a 1960s planning map, showing that originally, 125 was to feed into westbound 905 (then a Route 75 extension)

http://www.cahighways.org/maps/125-075.jpg
http://www.cahighways.org/121-128.html#125

From that CAHighways entry, the segment of 905 that turns towards the Otay Mesa crossing WAS originally part of the definition of Route 125 from 1972 to 1986, though it was not signed and built until later.  (At that point, none of 125 had been constructed south of Route 94, while what had been 75 and later 117 - soon to be 905 - already existed in some form).

Chris Sampang

emory

Quote from: NE2 on December 20, 2013, 03:28:25 PM
Quote from: mrsman on December 20, 2013, 01:59:37 PM
If anybody knows more about why 905 and 125 were never connected, I'd like to know.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Just like how the western segment of the 905 was never built.

Alps

Quote from: NE2 on December 20, 2013, 03:28:25 PM
Quote from: mrsman on December 20, 2013, 01:59:37 PM
If anybody knows more about why 905 and 125 were never connected, I'd like to know.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
And in the future, when they have at least 8 or 9 of those dollar signs, work will resume.

TheStranger

Quote from: emory on December 20, 2013, 06:19:21 PM
Quote from: NE2 on December 20, 2013, 03:28:25 PM
Quote from: mrsman on December 20, 2013, 01:59:37 PM
If anybody knows more about why 905 and 125 were never connected, I'd like to know.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Just like how the western segment of the 905 was never built.

To put it in perspective: according to the Wiki entry on Route 905, the Otay Mesa crossing is only 28 years old.

Border Field State Park occupies the area where the 905 west extension would go, with no pre-existing border crossing there at present.  The AARoads page on the route describes that area as "environmentally sensitive"

https://www.aaroads.com/california/ca-905.html
Chris Sampang

andy3175

#13
Quote from: TheStranger on December 20, 2013, 07:17:46 PM
Border Field State Park occupies the area where the 905 west extension would go, with no pre-existing border crossing there at present.  The AARoads page on the route describes that area as "environmentally sensitive"

Yes:

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=669
http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/669/files/SanDiegoCoastWebLayout041509.pdf - Tijuana River and Border Field State Park

QuoteThe Tijuana Estuary is the largest coastal wetland in Southern California and it is located on the international border between the U.S. and Mexico. The estuary is primarily a shallow water habitat, though it is often termed an "intermittent estuary," as it is subjected to extreme changes in streamflow at different times of the year. Extended periods of drought leave parts of the estuary dry during some periods, while flooding inundates the same areas during others. For this reason, Tijuana Estuary is considered to be a very unique part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System.

The Tijuana River Estuary is one of the few salt marshes remaining in Southern California, where over 90% of wetland habitat has been lost to development. The site is an essential breeding, feeding and nesting ground and key stopover point on the Pacific Flyway for over 370 species of migratory and native birds, including six endangered species.


QuoteThe Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve is one of only 24 wetlands in the United States that has  been designated by the International Ramsar Committee as a "wetland of international importance."  Estuaries provide
food and nesting areas for many creatures, especially shorebirds. At least 370 bird species have been seen here. All of the plants and animals in this park are protected–some are threatened or endangered. With your help, the estuary will be preserved forever.

With all that said, I doubt there's much appetite to construct the western portion of CA 905.

Regards,
Andy
Regards,
Andy

www.aaroads.com

TheStranger

Quote from: andy3175 on December 21, 2013, 12:53:34 AM

With all that said, I doubt there's much appetite to construct the western portion of CA 905.

Regards,
Andy

I do wonder: when the full proposal for the Border Field-to-Otay Mesa route was created in the 1980s...was it a situation where whichever area got the border crossing would get the completed road?  The mixture of the existing Otay Mesa crossing and the future Route 11 crossing slightly to the east seem to mitigate any need for the Border Field-area point of entry.
Chris Sampang

NE2

Quote from: TheStranger on December 21, 2013, 03:19:02 AM
I do wonder: when the full proposal for the Border Field-to-Otay Mesa route was created in the 1980s
1972, actually (as Route 117). SR 11 was not created until 1994. http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239508~5511839:-Verso--California-State-Highways, shows the 1975 status well.
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

andy3175

#16
Quote from: TheStranger on December 21, 2013, 03:19:02 AM
The mixture of the existing Otay Mesa crossing and the future Route 11 crossing slightly to the east seem to mitigate any need for the Border Field-area point of entry.

The I-5 border crossing is very, very busy, and I do think a second port of entry would be very helpful; I'd be reluctant to state one in the San Ysidro area would not be necessary. The SR-11 crossing is an experiment of sorts to see if people would (a) drive way east and then back west to cross the border more expeditiously and (b) pay a toll for the privilege of not using San Ysidro or Otay Mesa I crossing.

Regarding 905 west, with the environmental area concerns and built-up urban areas so close, any kind of additional freeway crossing in these areas would be disruptive and huge. So that is probably a nonstarter. But that does not diminish the need for people to get across the border. I seem to recall there were some discussions about adding a local port of entry (i.e., not a freeway connection) in San Ysidro to connect with Tijuana. There is also the pending transnational airport terminal planned to connect from Otay Mesa on the U.S. side to Tijuana's  Rodriguez Airport. But the idea of a smaller crossing, if ever permitted and built, would probably also get quite a bit of traffic. Right now, the freeway border crossings can have routine 1-2 hour waits going northbound.

Regards,
Andy
Regards,
Andy

www.aaroads.com

ARMOURERERIC

And there still is the rumor of a 20 year plan to put a border crossing out by my place in either Boulevard or Jacumba Hot Springs.  The talk is of a freeway between I-8 and Mex 2D, which at this location would be less than say 5 miles..  I know rumors are just that, but alot of industrial developers have scooped up large swatches of land along Ribbonwood Rd(the N/S short section of CA 94 at I-8) and it's non state highway counterpart Jewel Valley Road which continues tot he Mex border, with the expectation of this future border crossing.

TheStranger

Quote from: andy3175 on December 23, 2013, 01:27:38 AM
Quote from: TheStranger on December 21, 2013, 03:19:02 AM
The mixture of the existing Otay Mesa crossing and the future Route 11 crossing slightly to the east seem to mitigate any need for the Border Field-area point of entry.

The I-5 border crossing is very, very busy, and I do think a second port of entry would be very helpful; I'd be reluctant to state one in the San Ysidro area would not be necessary. The SR-11 crossing is an experiment of sorts to see if people would (a) drive way east and then back west to cross the border more expeditiously and (b) pay a toll for the privilege of not using San Ysidro or Otay Mesa I crossing.

When the 11 port of entry is built...it seems to me that would actually aid north-south traffic heading towards Ensenada, as it'd be much closer to the Corredor 2000 bypass of Tijuana.  Having said that...how much of the traffic at Otay and San Ysidro currently is traffic heading specifically to Tijuana, rather than elsewhere in Baja California?

Chris Sampang

ARMOURERERIC

The Otay east crossing was specifically designed to align with the Corridor 2000 project.  Mexico got their part done first.

andy3175

#20
Quote from: ARMOURERERIC on December 23, 2013, 02:32:23 PM
The Otay east crossing was specifically designed to align with the Corridor 2000 project.  Mexico got their part done first.

The same is true of the upgrade and expansion of the I-5 Port of Entry at San Ysidro: Mexico got their part done first.

Regards,
Andy
Regards,
Andy

www.aaroads.com

NE2

Quote from: ARMOURERERIC on December 23, 2013, 02:32:23 PM
The Otay east crossing was specifically designed to align with the Corridor 2000 project.  Mexico got their part done first.
http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist11/departments/planning/pdfs/tcs/11_SR_11TCS.pdf
I don't see anything on the Mexican side, unless it was built after the Goog's latest aerials. Corridor 2000 is several miles to the east, linked via the (previously built) Federal 2.

One thing that does seem to be recently constructed (or still under construction?) is the Via Rapida Alamar, straddling the Rio Tijuana from where the current Via Rapida (freeway from the I-5 crossing) leaves the main river east to a point south of Otay East.
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

pderocco

Quote from: mrsman on December 20, 2013, 01:59:37 PM
If anybody knows more about why 905 and 125 were never connected, I'd like to know.
It seems odd that such relatively recent roads should have a non-connection like this.

If you look at the conditions on the ground, there are big plateaus of dirt piled up on either side of Otay Mesa Blvd. which look like they're intended to carry 125 over the street and launch some flyover ramps onto 905. You can see it in the Street View imagery. It's clear they don't intend to leave it the way it is.

andy3175

Construction continues for SR 11 between SR 905 and Airway Road. A direct connector between SR 905 east and SR 11 east/south is taking shape and remains under construction, as is the connector from SR 11 west to SR 905 west. A recent article noted the continuing construction as well as quoted a local politician lamenting that the direct connectors between SR 905 and SR 125 are not a part of this project (and connecting traffic must continue to use Otay Mesa Road and La Media Road to access SR 125/SR  905). notably, Google Maps show the proposed 905-125 connectors but not the 11-905 connectors that are actually under construction currently.

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2015/jan/13/stringers-new-border-entry-planned-east-otay/

QuoteSan Diego is poised to get the first new Southwest border port of entry in at least 30 years, and it's being built as a toll crossing with the main goal of improving commercial-truck wait times.

With a target opening date of 2017, the Otay Mesa East port of entry is, yes, east of the Otay port by about two miles. It's going in on SANDAG's direction, with Caltrans providing the roads and Mexico fully supporting the plan.

...

The key feature: the promise of 20-minute wait times to cross the border. The proposal-in-motion involves ten commercial-vehicle lanes and ten private-vehicle lanes and will cost about $550 million, a number SANDAG economist calls "a work in progress."

The SANDAG plan is build it as a toll crossing and hand it over to the feds to run it, with the money generated by the tolls paying the cost of running it.

...

The current plan is to have the new port open 16 hours a day, with the toll varying from around $2 at off-peak hours to up to $17 during peak hours. The predicted median toll for passenger vehicles is $2.35, while commercial trucks are looking at a median toll of $15.45.

So far, Caltrans has broken ground and is building the State Route 11 extension from the 905 east, between Otay Mesa Road and Airway Drive. The next step is building the highway to the border, Cox said, and the final step is building the actual facility that's still on the drawing board.

...

At opening, planners expect to attract about 20 percent of northbound border traffic, with particular emphasis on the commercial traffic that gets trapped idling for hours in the maze of Otay Mesa's port. Relatively safe cargo is mixed in with cargo that demands a lot of inspection, so every shipper must wait.

"The inefficiency of the Otay Mesa crossing is one of the driving forces behind this plan," Cox said. "There's little room for improvements on the south side and there's little room for design efficiency to sort [vehicles] by commodity on the north."

...

National City mayor Ron Morrison worried about how the highways would look for commuters during morning rush hour.

"Why would you funnel traffic onto the 905 and then the 805 and not get the 125 connectors working?" he asked. "Anyone who has been on the 805 in the morning in a pedestrian car is already in a tunnel of trucks."

Regards,
Andy

www.aaroads.com

andy3175

Update on both California 11 and Otay East Port of Entry into Mexico ... once completed, a toll would be charged to expedite border crossings, which would be the first of its kind in California. The westernmost segment of SR 11 is slated to open to traffic in January 2016, with the second segment to be built in connection with the actual border crossing facility, with groundbreaking of the eastern segment of the toll road and border crossing most likely to occur in 2018.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/dec/26/east-otay-port-entry-border-innovative-crossing/

QuoteAt a time when border waits can stretch for hours, the plan seems almost too good to be true: a major new international crossing between Tijuana and San Diego, where trucks and passenger vehicles would wait no more than 20 minutes to reach the border.

Planners in the United States and Mexico are thinking big as they envision Otay Mesa East, a future port of entry that would serve both passenger vehicles and commercial trucks.

Otay Mesa East, also known as Otay II, would be California’s first tolled vehicle border crossing, incorporating binational lane management and toll collection. It would be privately financed through bonds in a plan where San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG, would play the central role.

QuoteEarlier this month, a pedestrian port of entry, the Cross-Border Xpress, launched operations at Otay Mesa, linking Tijuana’s A.L. Rodríguez International Airport with San Diego. Privately built and operated, the facility is the only U.S. crossing that connects directly to a foreign airport, offering ticketed airline passengers who pay a toll a chance to cross faster.

Next month, U.S. and Mexican federal officials are preparing for another first on Otay Mesa: the opening of a joint inspection facility for fruit and vegetable shipments where customs officials from countries are preparing to work side-by-side. The facility is located in Tijuana, near the Otay Mesa commercial port of entry.

QuoteIt’s the need for a third crossing between Tijuana and San Diego and the scarcity of federal funds that are driving plans for the future port. According to SANDAG, the aim is to build 10 northbound commercial vehicle lanes, doubling region’s trade capacity. It would also include 10 northbound passenger vehicle lanes, with the option of converting lanes in both categories depending on demand.

Last year, more than $39 billion in goods passed through Otay Mesa, and SANDAG expects the volume to steadily increase in coming years. Even with the $741 million expansion and redesign of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, which is scheduled for completion by 2019, the expected growth of the region will require more border infrastructure for passenger traffic as well.

QuoteOtay Mesa East is a plan that has taken years to evolve — and is continuing to take shape through discussions among a host of federal and state agencies from both countries. Locally, SANDAG has been working closely with the California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, because a planned toll road, state Route 11, is key to the overall project.

QuoteThe idea for third border crossing dates back to the 1990s, but it gained traction following a border-wait-times study by SANDAG that found inadequate infrastructure on the U.S.-Mexico border “cost the U.S. and Mexican economies an estimated $7.2 billion in foregone gross output and more than 62,000 jobs in 2007.”

SANDAG found a supporter in Denise Moreno Ducheny, then a state senator, who agreed to sponsor Senate Bill 1486, the Otay Mesa East Toll Facility Act, aimed at creating a financial framework for the project. The legislation gave SANDAG the authority to build a toll road extension to the border, issue bonds and seek private investment funds. The measure became law in October 2008. The following month, a presidential permit was granted for the project.

QuoteThe current estimated price tag is about $900 million — with the bulk of the cost, about $700 million, on the U.S. side, where the facilities would include a new California Highway Patrol inspection station. The estimate also incorporates the cost of access roads on both sides of the border.

Authorities on both sides of the border said they are working on acquiring land for the facility. U.S. planners are moving forward on another key component — developing accurate border wait time measurements so that users can decide whether it’s worth their while to pay the toll at Otay East.

A SANDAG study last year of the project’s economic viability projected a median toll of $2.35 for passenger vehicles and $15.45 for commercial vehicles. The opening date hinges on many factors, but planners are hoping to see the project underway by 2018.

Next month, Caltrans intends to open open a 1.5-mile stretch of state Route 11 that connects to state Route 905, the highway that connects Otay Mesa to the Interstate 5 and Interstate 805 highways. A second stretch of state Route 11, connecting to the future Otay East port of entry, would not be built “without knowing that the port of entry is coming,” Caltrans’ Orso said.
Regards,
Andy

www.aaroads.com



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