Why this matters
This interchange sees tens of thousands of drivers each day with many commuters coming from multiple communities across San Diego.
By Rami Alarian, inewsource community reporting intern
Spring Valley residents have urged state transportation officials to continue prioritizing a long-envisioned state route interchange project.
The Spring Valley Community Planning Group sent a letter to Caltrans asking the agency the status of a multi-phase project that would add extra lanes and a freeway connector at the interchange of state routes 94 and 125. The more than $275 million project was first proposed more than 15 years ago.
Christopher Pierce, chair of the planning group, said members decided to send the letter following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s appointment of a new Caltrans director earlier this year.
From the Documenters
This story came in part from notes taken by Elizabeth Boles, a San Diego Documenter, at a Spring Valley Community Planning Group meeting last month. The Documenters program trains and pays community members to document what happens at public meetings.
“We pushed hard, wrote some letters,” Pierce said, “trying to bring it back to the front burner and put some attention on it because it is a big bottleneck for commuters of multiple communities.”
Over 83,000 vehicles travel through southbound SR-125 between the Lemon Avenue on-ramp and Spring Street off-ramp, creating congestion for commuters from Lemon Grove, La Mesa and other nearby neighborhoods.
Caltrans hopes to improve traffic movement in the area — on local streets and on the freeway — while providing more accommodating roads for pedestrians and cyclists.
Pierce said he feels San Diego has often been overlooked in the past when it comes to these sorts of projects. This time, he said, Caltrans responded swiftly.
“The new director actually responded right away that they’re looking into it,” Pierce said.
A Caltrans spokesperson told inewsource that “utility relocation complications” delayed part of the design process. Construction is now expected to begin next fall. Funding for the project’s first phase is secured.
The planning group also expects an update from Caltrans at a future meeting. “We’re just going to keep fighting to make sure that phase two of the project does get funded,” Pierce said.
Here’s what’s planned.
Phase one: $115.5 million
Caltrans plans to add auxiliary lanes to connect entrance and exit ramps on both sides of SR-125 and on eastbound Interstate 94 to improve merging. Crews will replace the Mariposa Street overcrossing as part of their construction.
Phase one will also include sound and retaining walls, bike improvements along the Mariposa overcrossing and Bancroft Road, and pedestrian and accessibility improvements.
Phase two: $160 million
Phase two will add a direct freeway-to-freeway connector from southbound SR-125 to eastbound I-94 to alleviate backups.
Crews will add more sound walls, retaining walls and further bicycle improvements along Spring Street.
Caltrans says on its website that it’s working with local and regional partners in an attempt to fully fund the project’s second phase. Construction can’t begin without that funding.
A Caltrans spokesperson said that environmental studies of freeway connector alternatives will be conducted. “As environmental studies progress, and community input received, a preferred alternative will be chosen,” the spokesperson said.
Officials hope to begin construction by 2029.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.