Trolley link to La Jolla clears big hurdle

Plans for a $1.7 billion San Diego Trolley link to La Jolla and University City moved closer to construction on Friday when transportation leaders OK’d the project’s last set of environmental studies.

The San Diego Association of Governments Board of Directors unanimously approved the final environmental impact report, which outlines how the Trolley extension will affect traffic, noise, views and related topics along its 11-mile route.

“This is the last step in a very long process,” said San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts, a SANDAG board member and strong backer of what’s formally called the Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project. “We have gone through countless forests of paper to get to this point. ... It’s now time to complete the project and get on to construction. I want to see this project get done.”

Gary Gallegos, SANDAG’s executive director, said on Thursday that approving the final documents would allow the agency to immediately start relocating utilities along the route. He said formal, heavy construction on the Trolley line would take place in 2016 and 2017, with service expected to start as early as 2019.

The project would extend light-rail from Old Town to Clairemont, La Jolla and University City, with nine new stations including two on the UC San Diego campus, and one at Westfield UTC mall.

While the project has enjoyed strong political support, residents along its route have expressed concerns about the elevated trolley line’s potential to mar their views and be a noisy neighbor. Several expressed their continued concerns at Friday’s SANDAG board meeting in downtown San Diego.

Last month, the Federal Transit Administration approved the project’s federal environmental document.

Early next year, SANDAG plans to submit the Mid-Coast line for a federal grant administered by the FTA. If secured, the grant would fund up to half the project’s cost, which is closer to $2 billion with finance charges.

To have a good shot at the federal money, SANDAG first needed the environmental clearances.

More on the project is at sandag.org/midcoast.

chris.nichols@utsandiego.com | (916) 445-2934 | Twitter@ChrisTheJourno