SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – One of San Diego's most congested areas could be getting worse for a week in February.
SANDAG is now warning drivers that it must close La Jolla Village Drive at Genesee Avenue for a week starting Feb. 8. That will allow crews to essentially connect the trolley tracks from one side of Genesee to the other.
"It's probably going to be Armageddon," said Cody Fine, who commutes to the area from Scripps Ranch. "Sometimes I cut through off Miramar Road and this would be one of the cross ways to get home and I guess I'd have to go around."
The intersection is in the heart of the booming UTC area, with a major university, hospitals, towering offices, a regional mall, and thousands of condos and apartments. SANDAG is on track to complete its midcoast corridor project by 2021, which connects the area to the rest of San Diego by trolley.
John Haggerty, who is overseeing the project, said crews are using a method to connect the tracks that allows the work to be done in just over a week with one closure. He said detours will be in place and that the agency is alerting community groups, residents, and businesses in the area.
"It's not safe to have traffic moving underneath that when it happens, so we will have to close that street for that period of time," Haggerty said.
Drivers will still be able to make right turns from La Jolla Village Dr. onto Genesee Ave.
Joe Dinardo, who walks to the UTC mall from his office, says he'll keep a positive outlook despite the inconvenience.
"You live in San Diego," he said. "It's sunny most of the day, no one should have a bad perspective on anything."
