Work Will Resume This Fall on South Bay Freeway Link

Construction is expected to begin this fall on the uncompleted section of California 54 that will allow commuters to ride the South Bay Freeway between Interstates 5 and 805, Caltrans officials announced Friday.

California Transportation Commission officials Thursday approved a $20.5-million contract to complete the route, which has been planned for more than 20 years and includes building a four-lane freeway along the border of Chula Vista and National City between Interstates 5 and 805. The contract also calls for construction of an adjacent Sweetwater flood-control channel.

Bidding for completion of the project will begin in August, with construction expected to start by mid-October, a Caltrans spokeswoman said.

Construction of the $103-million freeway and 6-mile flood-control project was halted in July, 1987, when a U. S. District Court judge issued an injunction that shut down construction of an interchange--dubbed “the bridge to nowhere” because it ends in mid-span--linking the route with Interstate 5.

The judge ruled that an environmental dispute between the Sierra Club and the city of Chula Vista would have to be resolved before construction could continue. The dispute stemmed from the environmental group’s claim that construction of California 54 would destroy habitat for and threaten the survival of two endangered birds that inhabit the area.

The dispute was settled in April, 1988, when Santa Fe Land Improvement Co. donated nearly 300 acres of bayfront land to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a refuge for the endangered least tern and light-footed clapper rail.