Be Prepared for Traffic Snarls as Crown Valley Widening Project Begins

Get your battle gear ready.

The widening of Crown Valley Parkway begins May 2 and will continue through 2012. While drivers will not be formally directed to alternate routes, they may want to consider using Avery Parkway or Oso Parkway to get to and from the freeway, said City Manager Tim Casey.

Cabot Road can also serve as an alternate route between La Paz Road and Paseo De Colinas.

The $11-million project, which is scheduled to be completed by fall 2012, is designed to reduce traffic congestion on Crown Valley as it enters I-5 and improve access to the area—which will soon see residential construction.

The project will add two eastbound lanes between Forbes and the I-5 southbound ramps. It will also add one westbound lane between the I-5 northbound and southbound ramps. This will allow freeway-bound traffic to be separated from the through traffic, officials said. The extra lanes will provide additional space for traffic exiting the I-5 at Crown Valley and heading east.

The city is taking measures to ensure that this project will proceed smoothly, including planning for the reduction in road capacity. Director of Public Works Dave Rogers said that the city expects to have three of the four lanes that lead to I-5 from Crown Valley open during construction.

“Since the project is confined to the south side of Crown Valley (eastbound) we should be able to minimize traffic impacts for most of the construction,” Rogers said. “However, there will be times when there is a much greater impact to traffic, such as when the freeway has to be closed at night.”

Rogers added that for the first six to nine months of the project, residents will see construction from Cabot Road to east of Forbes Road on Crown Valley as SDG&E buries the overhead utility lines on this part of the road. The work is necessary to allow for the widening and will also improve the appearance and safety of the Gateway area, Rogers said.  

In addition, Rogers said that the new, buried electrical system will be more reliable.

While the city hopes that widening Crown Valley Pkwy will significanty improve traffic flow, they aren't stopping there.  The city--along with other cities along Crown Valley road--has also applied for funding from the Measure M2 program to improve traffic signal coordination on Crown Valley from PCH to Antonio Parkway. The purpose of the Measure M2 traffic light synchronization program is to reduce travel times, conserve gas by reducing the time that cars idle at red lights and reduce vehicle emissions.

“If we receive funding, this work should further enhance the flow of traffic and will work in tandem with the widening to improve traffic flow at the freeway,” Rogers said.  But Casey says that the city won't know for several months whether they aer going to recieve funding for the project, and it could take several years to complete the project.