Traffic Shifts Slated For Interstate 5 Near San Elijo Lagoon

ENCINITAS, CA — Southbound traffic will be shifted along a portion of Interstate 5 through the rest of the week, according to Caltrans and SANDAG officials.

Drivers will experience a curve in I-5 as they drive south on the San Elijo Lagoon highway bridge. The shift is due to the San Elijo Lagoon Highway Bridge Replacement Project, which began in 2017 and is expected to finish in late 2021, according to officials.

The project is set to add new carpool lanes and a suspended pedestrian walkway. The length of the bridge will also be extended, which is designed to improve tidal flow and the environmental health of the lagoon.

Crews will re-stripe and re-set the stretch of road at night, causing partial lane closures as early as 8 p.m., although no full freeway closure are planned, officials said.

Despite the alteration to the eight-mile stretch of I-5, the same number of lanes will remain in each direction during and after traffic shifts.

Sunday's traffic shift is the first of many, according to officials. Northbound I-5 traffic will be similarly shifted during the week of Feb. 9 and other transitions continue over the next several months.

– City News Service