Supervisors to schedule hearing on undergrounding San Vicente Road utility lines
The county plans to underground overhead utilities for the San Vicente Road Improvement Project and will consider scheduling a Nov. 6 public hearing on the matter when it meets Sept. 25.
The road project proposes to widen and realign 2.25 miles of San Vicente Road from Warnock Drive to just east of the Wildcat Canyon Road intersection for safety purposes. To relocate the utilities, the county must establish an Underground Utility District for San Vicente Road and adopt an ordinance on its formation. The Nov. 6 hearing would allow the board to hear public testimony and following that, consider adoption of the ordinance.
The cost of undergrounding the lines on San Vicente Road is estimated at $4.2 million and will be funded by San Diego Gas & Electric and other companies that have overhead lines in the project area, according to the county. California Public Utilities Commission’s Rule 20a calls for utilities, such as SDG&E, to pay for underground electric lines when they are located along heavily traveled or scenic routes. The Rule 20a funds are collected through a standard surcharge on ratepayers’ bills and allocated to the local jurisdiction for which they will be used.
Construction on the San Vicente Road project is anticipated to begin in March 2014, and completed by November 2015, the county reported.
The Board of Supervisors meets at 9 a.m. Sept. 25 at the county administration building, 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 310, in San Diego.