Help for Highway 78

A diesel-powered light-rail project between Oceanside and Escondido is expected to ease the burden on north county roads. Construction of the Sprinter system includes 118,000 ft. of new track and 15 stations. The 22-mi. line will include stops in Vista and San Marcos when it is completed in December 2007.

By Greg Aragon

The North County Transit District signed a $50 million contract with German-based Siemens Transportation Systems for the March 2006 delivery of 12 diesel-powered light-rail cars. The trains will travel at speeds of up to 55 mph (photo courtesy of the North County Transit District).

The new $375.5 million Sprinter light-rail project in north San Diego County will roll toward its first construction milestone at the end of next month when construction crews begin uprooting large chunks of existing tracks in Escondido.

"This process will go on every week for about a year and a half," said Ray Hughes, project manager of West Coast Rail Constructors, the joint-venture firm of Vista-based FCI Constructors and Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Enterprises, the construction manager hired by the project's owner, the North County Transit District.

Diesel-powered trains will connect Oceanside and Escondido, a 22-mi. west-east span that includes stations in San Marcos and Vista. The 15-station route is scheduled for completion in December 2007.

The main commuter artery between Oceanside and Escondido is California Highway 78, which handles about 150,000 cars each day. Tom Kelleher, a spokesperson for the North County Transit District, said the agency expects about 10,300 daily commuters to use Sprinter.

Beginning in April and continuing for 18 months, construction crews each week will remove about 1,000 ft. of track, re-grade the vacant areas and install new track.

The existing track is being uprooted because much of it is at least 40 years old and could not handle the Sprinter's average speed of 50 mph. A new track will also provide a smoother ride, Kelleher said.

Hughes, whose West Coast Rail team won the Sprinter contract with a bid of $187.2 million, said working around an active freight line-Burlington Northern Santa Fe runs freight trains on the existing tracks on the weekends -is a major concern.

"The most challenging part will be the coordination of all the material deliveries, and then working in a small confined area," he added. "The key to making it all work will be careful supervision and lots of team meetings."

The Burlington system will run on the same new tracks as the Sprinter.

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The project broke ground in January and is currently in the earthwork stage. By summer, crews will be approaching the city of San Marcos, Hughes said.

Construction crews will cross 36 streets and lay 118,000 ft. of new track, averaging between 1,000 ft. and 1,500 ft. weekly. Other major work includes installation or replacement of bridge and culvert structures; grade crossing equipment; communication, control and signaling systems; right-of-way fencing, retaining walls; and erosion- control devices.

Each station, designed by New York-based DMJM + Harris, will feature platforms, canopies, ticket vending machines and adjacent parking lots.

Three stations will be in San Marcos -at the Civic Center, 25,000-student Palomar Community College and the 8,500-student California State University campus.

"The stations are centrally located in town and will greatly relieve traffic," said Charlie Schaefer, San Marcos' director of development services. "Additionally, [they] will be a stimulant to development."

The Cal State San Marcos station will anchor the $24 million San Marcos Loop, a new 1.7-mi. section of right-of-way that includes five cast-in-place concrete, box-girder bridges spanning the San Marcos Creek and Highway 78. The Loop will also include Barham Lane, a new frontage road to provide access to a new housing subdivision along the alignment.

NCTD in March signed a $50 million contract with German-based Siemens Transportation Systems for the March 2006 delivery of 12 self-propelled cars.

Kelleher said that the decision to go with diesel instead of electric vehicles was driven by cost. He estimated the cost to build the catenary support systems that are required by electric trains but not by diesel at about $5 million to $6 million per mi.

"So with 22 mi. of track, that's $100 million saved in construction costs alone," Kelleher added.