The Pala Band of Mission Indians, Granite Construction Company, Southern California Region, and Caltrans recently cut the ribbon on a 1.3 mile section of road on State Route 76. The September 16 ceremony celebrated the completion of the widening and realignment project that broke ground on June 20, 2008.
The Pala Band of Mission Indians and Granite are jointly financing the $26 million in improvements in a public-private collaboration with the County of San Diego and Caltrans. Granite assumed responsibility for the design, permitting, habitat mitigation and construction of the improvements as a permit condition for the nearby Rosemary’s Mountain Quarry. Granite and Pala eventually will be reimbursed through San Diego County’s Transportation Impact Fee Fund. The fund collects fees paid by developers in San Diego County. The improvements include a new, safer alignment and two additional lanes for the 1.3 mile section of SR76 east of Interstate 15. The project took 15 months to complete.
The ceremony included remarks from Chairman Robert Smith, (Pala Band of Mission Indians), Alan Kosup, (Caltrans, SR76 – I/15 Corridor Director) Tom Rogers, (District Director, State Senator Dennis Hollingsworth), Kevin Jeffries, (California State Assemblyman, 66th Dist) Bill Horn, (San Diego County Supervisor) Hal Jensen, (Palomar Grading & Paving, Inc.) and Pat Kelly (Granite Construction Company Southern California Regional Manager).
Chairman Smith was complimentary to the team involved in the roadway improvements; “The tribe is proud to be part of this project that has helped make travel safer for the community.”
Assemblyman Jeffries had some words of praise for the construction schedule. “This is an example of what can happen when a project team is motivated to complete a roadway project in an efficient and expeditious manner. This project was completed quickly. It seems that we were here taking pictures for the groundbreaking just a few months ago.”
San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn commented; “With the many budget issues our state, county and cities are facing today, its important for local governments, Indian tribes, and corporations to work together to find solutions for our infrastructure needs.”
Granite Construction Company Project Manager, James Marsolino presented a partnering plaque to Rahim Akhondzadeh, Caltrans Resident Engineer for his efforts in working with stakeholders to complete the project.
This is the first phase of what officials hope will be additional improvements to SR76, east of Interstate 15. For more information about Granite, please visit their website at www.graniteconstruction.com.