Neighborhoods in southeastern San Diego and National City that were disconnected by Interstate 805 construction are part of a pilot program that will provide millions for parks, bike lanes and other amenities.
The goal of the state program is to re-imagine and revitalize dozens of blocks divided by freeways. The pilot program, which was announced Tuesday, also includes divided communities in Arcata and South San Francisco.
Caltrans also announced this week $8 million in federal money for transit and road projects across San Diego County, including freeway lid parks in Barrio Logan and managed lanes at the state Route 78/I-15 interchange.
San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera praised the pilot program for trying to correct past mistakes, such as building I-805 through ethnically diverse communities in the late 1960s.
“This is a really important effort to make amends for some of the injustices of the past related to bulldozing communities and replacing those communities with highways,” he said.
Caltrans will assist San Diego and National City with creating a community-driven vision to reconnect their neighborhoods, officials said.
“These collaborations will be unlike any in Caltrans history and empower a new generation of community-driven transportation decisions,” said Caltrans Director Tony Tavares. “Caltrans will work hand-in-hand with community-based partners and cities on solutions to reconnect neighborhoods that have been split by highway projects and help heal past harms.”
The website for the program, called Reconnecting Communities, says the local project intends to restore power to residents of southeastern San Diego and National City.
“It was only a generation ago that National City and southeastern San Diego were at odds about the proposed expansion of the freeway we stand under today,” said National City Councilmember Jose Rodriguez. “Today we stand together to reinvest back into our communities.”
The $8 million in federal money is from the recently approved Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024.
In addition to the projects in Barrio Logan and on state Route 78, it includes money for a San Ysidro mobility hub, managed lanes on I-5 and some other projects.
They include a westbound truck climbing line on state Route 52 from Mast Boulevard to I-15 and managed lanes on state Route 52 between I-15 and state Route 125.
There is also money for a coastal rail bikeway connecting UC San Diego and job centers to the north, as well as bicycle, pedestrian and traffic-calming enhancements to the western portion of Lomas Santa Fe Drive in Solana Beach.
In Barrio Logan, $1.3 million will help pay for freeway lids, which are essentially deck bridges on top of a freeway that create green space in a community.
At the state Route 78/I-15 interchange, $4 million will cover lanes called “direct connectors” between the two freeways.
