SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), in partnership with the City of Encinitas and California State Parks, are placing approximately 63,000 cubic yards of opportunistic sand from San Elijo Lagoon on Cardiff State Beach.
Caltrans and SANDAG Build NCC crews installed a conveyance pipeline that will move the equivalent of 19 Olympic-sized swimming pools of dredged sand from the lagoon under the Interstate 5 (I-5) Highway Bridge to the beach.
Work began on Tuesday, December 21.
Pumping operations will be conducted Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Crews may work a 24-hour shift on Saturdays to stay on schedule. The project is anticipated to be complete in March 2022.
Nearby residents and visitors may hear noise and see nighttime lighting within the central basin of the lagoon and near Cardiff State Beach. The public will experience machinery and construction crews on the beach throughout the beach nourishment process.
Fencing will be in place around equipment on the beach. The beach will remain open throughout the replenishment period. No closures are associated with this work.
The removal of the sand will also benefit the San Elijo Lagoon restoration project, in partnership with the Nature Collective by making the channel under the bridge deeper and wider.
These deeper and wider channels will help tidal circulation ultimately creating healthier waters and greater wildlife diversity and improving quality of life for habitats within the lagoon.
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