East County
The California Transportation Commission on Thursday approved the largest single highway contract yet awarded in San Diego County: $41.4 million for the third-stage construction of an interchange linking two freeways in La Mesa and El Cajon.
The commission approved the project unanimously at a meeting at the Hotel Inter-Continental in San Diego.
The project calls for building four freeway-to-freeway connections between Interstate 8 and California 125 as well as a new interchange at Severin Drive; partial interchanges at Lemon Avenue, including California 125 over Interstate 8 to La Suvida Drive; building new lanes on California 125 from south of Lemon Avenue to Interstate 8, and new lanes on Interstate 8 to join lanes completed on previous contracts.
In addition, the project calls for building two new frontage roads and an auxiliary lane on the east side of Interstate 8 between La Mesa and El Cajon boulevards. The goal, according to Caltrans officials, is to ease traffic congestion on Interstate 8, eliminate substandard interchange connections, build needed interchange links and improve overall circulation and safety.
Construction on the project should begin in about six months. The fourth and final phase of the interchange reconstruction is scheduled to begin in 1989.
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