Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

SEAL appeal on the Silver Strand

Special Warfare Command considers traffic in campus construction

The campus will be within Coronado’s city boundaries but next to the Imperial Beach border.
The campus will be within Coronado’s city boundaries but next to the Imperial Beach border.

If all goes well, sailors will be able to ride the bus into the billion-dollar Special Warfare Command campus being constructed on the Silver Strand between Imperial Beach and Coronado, according to Navy officials at a January 18 Imperial Beach City Council meeting. But there won’t be much signage on State Highway 75, according to base commander Capt. Scott Mulvehill.

“We want to make sure we maintain the scenic highway,” Mulvehill said of the project that broke ground in 2015. “It’s a beautiful stretch of land there and we want to have a low visual impact.”

The campus is being constructed on land south of the existing Silver Strand Training Campus. The Navy decided at least five years ago that Special Warfare personnel, whose commands are currently scattered around the country, should be united on a single campus. About 3300 Special Warfare personnel are expected on the campus once it’s finished.

The campus is within Coronado’s city boundaries, but at the Imperial Beach border. The two cities are in litigation over which one should handle the base sewage.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Navy’s design for the strand and the campus aims to take as much base-bound traffic out of the roadway as quickly as possible. That will be accomplished by having an 800-foot-long, four-lane-wide entry drive on the base for about 110 cars, with a 600-foot-long dedicated right-turn lane on SR-75, he said.

The southbound left-turn lane will be a 500-foot-long turn pocket, Mulvehill said. “I have ripped off my guards [amenities] to put more money into the construction of the intersection.....

“We want to keep everybody inside the blue line, the blue line we consider that’s where our property starts,” Mulvehill said. “We’re trying our best to be good neighbors and we’re doing our best to help traffic out there.”

Vehicles leaving the base northbound will have a long third lane on the side to accelerate up to traffic speed.

The base command is working with Caltrans and the Metropolitan Transit System to put the bus stop on the base — inside the blue line.

“That way we have less people walking across the strand,” Mulvehill said. “It’s just a proposal right now. We would like to get it inside the base…. We think that would be huge for everyone…. We want our people to look at the bus and say, 'That’s a super-easy way to get to work.'”

Mulvehill expects the Special Warfare campus will be home to lots of fitness enthusiasts who will enjoy having the strand at the front door.

“They are Navy SEALs — I expect there will be lots of runners, lots of bicyclists,” he said.

Imperial Beach City Council members said they were pleased with how much the base commanders have worked with the city to address concerns about traffic problems on the 75.

“We really want to work with MTS and getting sailors to utilize public transportation,” councilwoman Lorie Bragg said. “Your response to our concerns is right on the money for us.”

“It’s not easy to negotiate with Fish & Wildlife, with Caltrans, with MTS and with us,” mayor Serge Dedina said. “You built great relationships with your neighbors and we really appreciate it.”

Mulvehill emphasized that the design is meant to look ahead to how the base will work in ten years.

“We have over engineered this so ten years from now people aren’t scratching their heads going, 'That Mulvehill guy sure screwed it up,'" he said. “We want to make sure we got it right for the future.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tigers In Cairo owes its existence to Craigslist

But it owes its name to a Cure tune and a tattoo
Next Article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach
The campus will be within Coronado’s city boundaries but next to the Imperial Beach border.
The campus will be within Coronado’s city boundaries but next to the Imperial Beach border.

If all goes well, sailors will be able to ride the bus into the billion-dollar Special Warfare Command campus being constructed on the Silver Strand between Imperial Beach and Coronado, according to Navy officials at a January 18 Imperial Beach City Council meeting. But there won’t be much signage on State Highway 75, according to base commander Capt. Scott Mulvehill.

“We want to make sure we maintain the scenic highway,” Mulvehill said of the project that broke ground in 2015. “It’s a beautiful stretch of land there and we want to have a low visual impact.”

The campus is being constructed on land south of the existing Silver Strand Training Campus. The Navy decided at least five years ago that Special Warfare personnel, whose commands are currently scattered around the country, should be united on a single campus. About 3300 Special Warfare personnel are expected on the campus once it’s finished.

The campus is within Coronado’s city boundaries, but at the Imperial Beach border. The two cities are in litigation over which one should handle the base sewage.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Navy’s design for the strand and the campus aims to take as much base-bound traffic out of the roadway as quickly as possible. That will be accomplished by having an 800-foot-long, four-lane-wide entry drive on the base for about 110 cars, with a 600-foot-long dedicated right-turn lane on SR-75, he said.

The southbound left-turn lane will be a 500-foot-long turn pocket, Mulvehill said. “I have ripped off my guards [amenities] to put more money into the construction of the intersection.....

“We want to keep everybody inside the blue line, the blue line we consider that’s where our property starts,” Mulvehill said. “We’re trying our best to be good neighbors and we’re doing our best to help traffic out there.”

Vehicles leaving the base northbound will have a long third lane on the side to accelerate up to traffic speed.

The base command is working with Caltrans and the Metropolitan Transit System to put the bus stop on the base — inside the blue line.

“That way we have less people walking across the strand,” Mulvehill said. “It’s just a proposal right now. We would like to get it inside the base…. We think that would be huge for everyone…. We want our people to look at the bus and say, 'That’s a super-easy way to get to work.'”

Mulvehill expects the Special Warfare campus will be home to lots of fitness enthusiasts who will enjoy having the strand at the front door.

“They are Navy SEALs — I expect there will be lots of runners, lots of bicyclists,” he said.

Imperial Beach City Council members said they were pleased with how much the base commanders have worked with the city to address concerns about traffic problems on the 75.

“We really want to work with MTS and getting sailors to utilize public transportation,” councilwoman Lorie Bragg said. “Your response to our concerns is right on the money for us.”

“It’s not easy to negotiate with Fish & Wildlife, with Caltrans, with MTS and with us,” mayor Serge Dedina said. “You built great relationships with your neighbors and we really appreciate it.”

Mulvehill emphasized that the design is meant to look ahead to how the base will work in ten years.

“We have over engineered this so ten years from now people aren’t scratching their heads going, 'That Mulvehill guy sure screwed it up,'" he said. “We want to make sure we got it right for the future.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Trophy truck crushes four at Baja 1000

"Two other racers on quads died too,"
Next Article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader