Concerns about SR-56 come up frequently in my daily door-to-door encounters with the residents of District 1. The road affects I-15 and I-5 users in different ways. While constituents in Rancho PeŒasquitos are anxious for the completion of SR-56, their neighbors in Carmel Valley and Del Mar Heights are just as concerned with the lack of funding for direct connections from SR-56 to I-5.
The completion of SR-56 has languished needlessly for over a decade, while the development of Carmel Mountain Ranch, Sabre Springs and half of Rancho PeŒasquitos was predicated on a completed freeway. As a
result, traffic congestion has become a crisis on I-15. With completion now scheduled for 2004 -- possibly 2003 -- and this year's state budget finally including $25 million in funding to help complete the midsection of SR-56, relief is in sight.
Unfortunately SR-56, as currently drawn, solves one problem while creating others. Caltrans is unwilling to fund direct connections from SR-56 to I-5 or to I-15. At both ends, we can expect significant delays for people getting on and off SR-56 and the interstates, and we can expect serious impacts on neighborhood surface streets from drivers seeking to avoid the bottlenecks. As a council member, I will fight to get Caltrans to approve, design and build the direct connections, and I will push Sacramento to fund them.