Major upgrades to the notoriously congested Interstate 805 and Palm Avenue interchange in Otay Mesa will begin next October and are expected to be complete in October 2026, city officials said last week.
The project includes $24 million in federal infrastructure money. The 50-year-old bridge will be the first in the city to be upgraded with money from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that President Joe Biden signed in 2021.
The upgrades will include a new carpool lane for the northbound 805 onramp, metering for north and southbound onramps and lengthened left-turn lanes in both directions on the bridge.
The $47.1 million project will also include seismic retrofits, realignment of nearby roads and installation of 6-foot-wide sidewalks, separated bicycle lanes and infrastructure for bus stops.
Community leaders say the long-awaited project, which city officials began discussing in 1996, is badly needed in one of the city’s fastest-growing areas.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous how congested and dangerous that exit is,” said Felipe Nuno, a member of the Otay Mesa Community Planning Group. “You have thousands upon thousands of people getting off work at the same time and people living in the many new homes.”
He said congestion is bad on weekdays during typical morning commute hours and again from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Palm Avenue is one of only two major streets that move traffic east and west between Otay Mesa and Nestor, Palm City and Imperial Beach. The other is Del Sol Boulevard, three-quarters of a mile to the south.
“These onramps connect to Palm Avenue, one of the main thoroughfares in the South Bay,” Councilmember Vivian Moreno said. “A significant amount of traffic backs up on these onramps and offramps.”
City officials said more than 37,000 cars use the bridge on a typical day, including 750 freight trucks. Usage is projected to increase to 58,000 cars per day by 2040.
The $24 million in federal money is supplemented by a $6 million contribution from the city, for a total of $30 million — a 20 percent match is required for projects receiving funds under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The remaining $17.1 million needed for the project will come from the county’s TransNet sales tax surcharge, developer impact fees generated in Otay Mesa and other sources, city officials said.
The project will also enhance the aesthetics of the interchange and Palm Avenue, city officials said.
It will restore decorative arches on the bridge fencing and decorative ashlar tile texture on the retaining wall at Palm Ridge Park, and it will add new irrigation systems and planted shrubs.
Crews are also slated to remove dead and diseased trees and plant more than 40 new trees.
A second phase of the project, which has not been funded, is slated to include widening the bridge to include a third eastbound lane. No estimated date for that phase of project is available.
The interchange, which was built in the early 1970s along with I-805, is located a quarter mile south of Chula Vista and 2.8 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. It’s the fourth exit north of the San Ysidro crossing.
