Last week, the City began to repave a portion of Ingraham Street from Crown Point Drive to La Playa Avenue. Known as Crown Point South of La Playa – Ingraham Street Paving, the project is expected to end in the summer. Construction times are weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with specific construction activities possibly occurring outside standard construction days and hours to allow the project to progress efficiently.

During construction, there will be temporary road closures, traffic rerouting, and parking and access restrictions that will be in effect during work hours. Also, temporary “No Parking” signs will be posted at least 72 hours before work begins where required. Access to residences and businesses will be maintained.

“The City is finally repaving a street that needs it,” said resident Virginia Hatt. “Many streets in the Crown Point area were repaved even though they were fine in comparison to other streets. I’ve heard that streets that were cheaper and easier to repave were repaved first. Then, they could brag about all the miles that had been repaved. I believe that is what happened,” Hatt added

Anyone who has driven on Ingraham Street knows full well about ongoing problems with potholes and other road conditions that have plagued the thoroughfare for years.

“Like so many others, I’ve been appalled at the conditions on Ingraham. Narrow as it is near the bridges, maneuvering around potholes was a dangerous exercise that required crossing the center line. So glad the work is getting done,” said Mark Linsky of Bird Rock.

Two years ago, Pacific Beach Middle School students Rex Mehran and Mason Morgan gave an eye-opening presentation to the Pacific Beach Town Council about Ingraham’s infrastructure issues for a school project. “The goal of our project is to have the City finally listen about the true problems of our community, and finally get Ingraham Street repaved,” Mehran told PBTC members in 2022. “Not only do we want Ingraham Street repaved, but we also want this to be a wake-up call to finally fix all the roads in our city.”

Mehran also pointed out that, in 2002, nearly 55% of San Diego’s roads were considered poor.

With the City’s repaving finally started, the Beach & Bay Press decided to solicit reaction from locals who have had to negotiate that distressed roadway for years.

Here’s what some had to say:

“The key issue is that the lower section of Ingraham (from La Playa to the first bridge) was never intended or designed for heavy vehicle traffic. It has become a main access road into PB and has semi-trucks and delivery trucks constantly using it. The road bed was not designed for vehicles of this size and weight. The road caves in and gets torn up,” said PB resident Steve Pruett.

“Add to this that navigation apps route vehicles onto ancillary streets like Crown Point and Riviera, and the result is all these arterial streets get torn up quickly. It’s happening all over SD as the neighborhoods get more populated and density increases. But PB has limited access/egress, so the key roads deteriorate at an accelerated rate. Some examples are Foothill, Beryl, Bluffside, Pacifica, Loring, and Soledad Road.”

“I’m looking forward to driving it (Ingraham) in a year-plus when the over-budget effort is finally completed,” said PB resident Chris Franklin. “You will find that many share the same cynical outlook.”

“Not sure if anyone realizes how long Ingraham has been torn to pieces,” said La Jolla resident Kathleen Morgan. “I’ll never forget the day I noticed what a mess it was in November 2016. I was almost run off the road by a raging driver who kept going. For eight years, it’s been a mess. I feel for the residents in that area.”

“The main arteries of PB specifically such as Crown Point Drive, Ingraham through Crown Point area, Grand Avenue, and Mission Bay Drive from the golf course to Balboa Avenue intersection are driven every day by anyone and everyone coming into and out of the PB area,” said resident Dan Younger. “I have had to zigzag at night to avoid known potholes. Not only that but during all commutes the constant driving on the uneven pavements wreaks havoc with both new and older vehicles.”

“I’d like the story to highlight how poor the efforts to replace our roads have been. Everywhere in PB, you see mounds of asphalt dumped into holes without any level of quality,” said PB resident Michelle M. “Temporary band-aids are not the answer. I’d like to understand who is winning these city contracts and why isn’t there any oversight of the quality?”

“I’ve had to replace two sets of rims on my car due to the potholes,” said Point Loma resident Louise Beatson. “I’m so careful driving and always looking out for them, though at night you just can’t see some of them until you hit them, and my whole body flinches and I say to myself, ‘There goes my rims.’”

For information about the Capital Improvements Program, visit sandiego.gov/cip. For project-specific questions contact the Engineering and Capital Projects Department at 619-533-4207 or email engineering@sandiego.gov, and reference “Crown Point South of La Playa – Ingraham Street Paving” in your inquiry.

WANT TO WITHSTAND POTHOLES?

Pothole-caused vehicle damages can be expensive. Tire replacements cost $75-$300, bent wheels between $50 and $500, and a suspension system damaged by rough roads can run as high as $5,000.

So are all vehicles equally vulnerable to potholes? No, they aren’t. Some are designed to withstand rough pavement, and some just have characteristics that favor pothole resilience. Those characteristics include having a heavy body (trucks and SUVs get the advantage), and long-travel suspension. The most pothole-resilient vehicle brands, not including vehicles rated for off-road toughness, are Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, Kia, Mitsubishi, Mini, Suzuki, Ford, and Mazda. When it comes to tires, the bigger the sidewalls (the distance between the wheel rim and the pavement) the more likely the tire will survive a pothole hit without the rim cutting into the rubber.

Source: Pothole.info