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SDG&E lays out plans for traffic
control during SRPL construction
By Lori Bledsoe
The Alpine Sun
ALPINE — Presentations to both the
Alpine Union School District Board and the Alpine Planning Group
prove that anxiety is high among Alpine residents regarding the
disruptions to daily lives caused by the Sunrise Powerlink.
Officials from San Diego Gas and Electric presented their
solutions to questions regarding the Alpine Boulevard
disruptions and potential EMF hazards that will be introduced to
Alpine once the SRPL project is completed. Residents, however,
still feel at a loss.
Todd Worthy, Public Affairs Manager for SDG&E, and Jose
Lopez, Undergrounding Manager, approached the Alpine Union
School District board at its recent meeting, explaining first
what the Sunrise Powerlink project entailed. In addition, Worthy
wanted to ensure, by his promise to the board, that all work to
be done in front of Alpine Elementary, will be done during the
summer months, or vacation months when school is not in session.
They want to work with the school district to decrease
the interruption to the school and the traffic to and from the
school as much as possible.
The question of EMF (Electro-magnetic field and or
frequency) that will be generated from the transmission lines
also was not conclusively answered. Worthy said that there were
studies done to show exactly how much EMFs are generated and
whether these amounts were harmful. However, those studies were
inconclusive. He said that SDG&E would take every precaution
when installing the underground lines to shield any potential
EMF.
Worthy then reminded the board that these lines are
transmission lines, and they are not distribution lines.
According to him, transmission lines apparently carry less of a
hazard of EMF.
Worthy then focused on the actual project that will
span from Star Valley Road to Peutz Valley Road. This
approximate 6.5-mile stretch of road will be under construction
for an estimated two years.
Worthy said that he is confident that the planning that
SDG&E has spent so much time, effort and money on will ease any
traffic problems on the boulevard. He has heard many concerns
regarding the disruptions that will take place on Alpine
Boulevard, sighting different activities that have taken place
on the boulevard in the past.
“We’re not one of those fly-by-night companies that
come in and dig up blocks of road to install underground
facilities,” Worthy said.
Price questioned Worthy then, telling him that he’s
been around long enough to remember the work that has been done
on Alpine Boulevard, and he wanted to know what was meant by
this.
Worthy replied that they were aware of a fiber-optics job that
was done on Alpine Boulevard, where the traffic controllers were
not optimal and that ten years ago one traffic controller died.
He said that the traffic controllers that will be on site would
be premium.
He did acknowledge that with any major facility job
such as the SRPL project, there would be impact on the
community, as well as disruptions.
Price then questioned what the mitigations are that are
being proposed by SDG&E.
Worthy explained that the mitigations that are in
negotiations are not yet set.
Price then prodded, saying that since the residents of
Alpine would be putting up with disruptions from this project
for two years, and the Boulevard would be torn up as a result of
it, why not make it a mitigation to put it back per one of the
approved plans that Alpine already has in place for renovation.
The questions to whether Alpine Boulevard will be
renovated per the new downtown plan that was set forth in the
renovation and beautification plans, could not be answered.
Worthy said that the boulevard would be put back to a better
state than it was before the project began, but whether the
reconstruction of Alpine Boulevard matched the beautification
plans, he could not say.
At the Alpine Planning Group meeting held Feb. 25, Don
Parent, another Public Affairs manager from SDG&E, along with
Jose Lopez, delivered a 10-minute presentation to the group that
was spared from public comment or questions.
They again addressed the scope of the project and
reported that they are in communications with all entities that
are involved such as the community through public meetings, the
Alpine Union School District, Grossmont Union School District,
the San Diego County Deparmtent of Public Works, Padre Dam,
County Sanitation Department, and Public Safety.
They reiterated the best times to work on different
sections of the boulevard, with summer being put on the calendar
for the area in front of Alpine Elementary. They acknowledged
that Tavern Road was busiest between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. and
would schedule work appropriately and that work at that end of
the Boulevard would not begin until after those times.
They assured the APG that though there would be an
impact to everyone on Alpine Boulevard, they were doing
everything possible to lessen that impact.
One of the ways that SDG&E is planning to control the
interruption to the boulevard is to open up only 500 feet of
work at a time, rather than a longer span. They promise to
complete at least 75 feet of work a day to expedite the project.
Each business will be guaranteed access with at least
half of their driveways open. Businesses and residents will be
advised of the work progress.
According to Parent, SDG&E has spent more than $500,000
on traffic plans for the boulevard and still have work in
progress to ensure that the traffic flow during construction
will be handled.
In doing this, SDG&E sited that traffic controllers, or
flagmen will be present to direct traffic, and plates will be in
place at the end of the workday to allow traffic flow to resume.
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