San Diego officials say the city’s water and sewer customers must cover the $13 million cost of moving pipes, casings and other structures in the pathway of the San Diego Trolley’s 11-mile La Jolla extension.

The city will also provide five pieces of property valued at $3.5 million to allow construction of trolley stations and maintenance areas along the nearly $2 billion line, which is scheduled to begin operating in 2020.

The city’s contributions are part of four agreements the City Council approved in late July with the San Diego Association of Governments, a regional planning agency scheduled to begin construction of the La Jolla extension next year.


Council members said the land and utilities work are appropriate contributions for the city to make to a crucial addition to the region’s transportation network.

“The importance of the trolley extension to University City can’t be overstated,” said Council President Sherri Lightner, whose district includes the northern portion of the new line. “This shows the city and the region are doing our part to increase transit ridership and reduce the strain on our roadways.”

The nine-station line, which will run from Old Town to UTC mall mostly along Morena Boulevard, will connect the trolley for the first time to UC San Diego and large employment centers nearby, allowing more people to commute by mass transit.

Councilman Todd Gloria said the project might not be possible without the city’s contribution.


Previous license agreements between the city and railroad operators gave San Diego essentially no choice regarding the utilities work, said James Nagelvoort, San Diego’s director of public works.

“We have assets that are within the right-of-way of the railroad tracks and double tracking that need to be relocated,” Nagelvoort said. “The railroad has prior rights, so it’s our legal responsibility to pay the cost of relocating those water and sewer assets.”

Those costs could force the city to raise water and sewer rates, which are based on how much it costs to serve the city’s 275,000 customers, including construction projects.

Ratepayers are already facing a proposed 17 percent hike in January based on higher costs for imported water and the city’s plan to begin building facilities that can recycle sewer water into drinking water.


Moving water and sewer pipes and other structures to make way for the main light-rail track to La Jolla will cost just under $4 million. But an additional $9 million is required to move such structures that are within the path of a second parallel track planned for heavy-rail trains, including Amtrak and freight trains.

The five pieces of land the city will donate, which total 8 acres, were valued at $3.5 million to $3.6 million recently by an independent appraiser, city officials said.

Two of the pieces are a 1.9-acre parcel slated to become the Tecolote Road station and a 2.1-acre parcel slated to become the Balboa Avenue station.

Other stations on the line will be the Old Town Transit Center, Clairemont Drive, Nobel Drive, the Veterans Administration Medical Center, UCSD East/Voigt Drive and UCSD West/Pepper Canyon. Construction will include a bridge over Interstate 5 into UCSD.


Officials said design work for the project is 65 percent complete, with construction expected to begin early next year. Design work for the utilities relocation is 95 percent complete, with construction expected to begin shortly.

The federal government is expected to cover half the project’s nearly $2 billion cost with a transit administration grant, said John Haggerty, who is overseeing the project for SANDAG.

The other half will be covered by Transnet, the county’s half-cent sales tax surcharge for transportation projects. Haggerty said the contribution from Transnet could be reduced if state grants or other funding sources are secured.