Valley Center Road medians project gets TransNet funding

By: QUINN EASTMAN - Staff Writer | Friday, April 15, 2005 12:31 AM PDT ∞

NORTH COUNTY ---- Several regional road construction projects, including landscaped medians for Valley Center Road that have been long sought by Valley Center residents, received a "jump start" Wednesday from the county Board of Supervisors.

To fund the projects, the supervisors consented to borrow $8.6 million in future revenue from the extension of the countywide TransNet half-cent sales tax approved by voters in November.

The county Public Works Department is already widening Valley Center Road from two to four lanes on the hill from Lake Wohlford Road up to one mile south of Banbury Drive. The second part of the widening ---- where the medians will be ---- extends further north to Cole Grade Road.

Both phases of the widening project together are estimated to cost $50 million, and construction of the medians to cost roughly $1.5 million.

"That's a lot of bake sales to get $1.5 million," said Sandy Smith, a member of Citizens for Valley Center Parkway, a residents committee that had been searching for funds for the landscaped medians.

She said Thursday that the key to convincing the Board of Supervisors was an offer made in February by the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians to pay $50,000 per year for maintenance of the medians if they were built.

Valley Center Community Planning Group President Andy Washburn called the medians a great improvement over the "bare yellow stripes" that county road builders originally planned for the middle of Valley Center's main road.

Fifth District Supervisor Bill Horn, a Valley Center avocado grower, hailed the move.

"This is great news for those of us who drive in Valley Center," he said in a statement. "Adding the medians now while we are widening the road is far cheaper than doing it later as a special project."

The other sped-up projects are:

Widening Julian Avenue in Lakeside, $1.8 million.

Widening Olive Vista Drive in Jamul and installing walkways and bike lanes, $2.8 million.

Installing sidewalks along the south side of Ramona Drive in Spring Valley, $1 million.

Widening East Mission Road between South Mission Road and De Luz Road in Fallbrook, $1.5 million.

Contact staff writer Quinn Eastman at (760) 740-5412 or qeastman@nctimes.com.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.