One of San Diego’s most beloved shortcuts, the Bachman Place connector road between Hillcrest and Mission Valley, will not reopen as scheduled this summer and could remain closed for more than another year.
The winding and hilly two-lane road, which many commuters call a secret shortcut, allows much faster non-freeway commutes between two of the city’s largest job centers and also serves as a crucial north-south route for cyclists.
A major expansion of UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest forced Bachman to close in April 2022 for an estimated two years, but UCSD officials said this week the closure will extend well into 2025 — at least.
University officials blamed what they called a series of “unexpected complications” in an official statement released to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Those complications include lengthy environmental reviews, relocation of a gas line, weather delays, unexpected soil removal and the “deconstruction” of a parking garage.
“Bachman Place will remain closed to vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle traffic between Hotel Circle South and Montecito Way until approximately mid-2025,” the statement said.
Hillcrest resident Arlene Hauser, who lives four blocks from the southern end of Bachman, said by phone Tuesday that the loss of the three-quarter-mile shortcut has been a major inconvenience.
“It was a great shortcut, and now you have to take (state Route) 163, which is backed up most of the time,” Hauser said. “It makes getting to Mission Valley 15 to 20 minutes longer at most times of day.”
The closure also worsens congestion in Hillcrest by forcing many drivers to travel through the neighborhood to SR 163 on Washington Street, First Avenue or other major surface streets.
Cyclists have been even more inconvenienced, because they can’t use the freeway. They must go east to Texas Street, or around through Old Town and up Washington.
Deborah Gostin raised early concerns about a delay on the social media site NextDoor in May. Last week, she called the lengthy delay “very disappointing short-term” but suggested it might prevent additional closures in future years.
UCSD said something similar. In its statement, the university said the delay will allow installation of utility infrastructure upgrades and give crews time to “fully enhance” the roadway.
“By completing these improvements now, we aim to prevent future disruptions and accommodate upcoming SANDAG bikeway enhancements in the area, minimizing future impacts or road closures,” UCSD said.
The statement refers to a plan by SANDAG, the county’s regional planning agency, to make Bachman a crucial cycling route with protected lanes and other amenities.
UCSD said those SANDAG upgrades are expected to begin next year. They will allow cyclists using Bachman to easily reach other protected cycling tracks on Washington and Fourth, Fifth and University avenues.
An analysis by the university two years ago estimated delays caused by the Bachman closure during the peak commute period would be no more than 10 minutes, and mostly in the range of three minutes to five minutes.
It’s not clear if an additional study were conducted after construction began and Bachman closed.
A separate analysis found that more than 6,000 cars traveled on Bachman Place during a typical day. That study said about half were those of UCSD employees.
In its statement, the university thanked the community for its patience.
“We are sensitive to the fact that the continued work involved may be disruptive at times and cause some traffic delays,” it said. “We greatly appreciate the community’s patience and understanding.”
The university also notified Google Maps, Waze and other navigation aid companies of the closure so those companies won’t send drivers, especially confused tourists, onto the temporarily closed street.
University officials say the closure is necessary for the roughly $3 billion upgrade and modernization of the hospital campus, where nearly half the buildings were constructed before 1970.
The renovations, which began in fall 2021, will take more than 15 years to complete and be handled in five phases. Thirty-six of the 38 buildings on the hospital campus will be replaced, and more than 1,000 homes will be added.
Bachman is also being upgraded.
It is being rerouted, elevated as much as 75 feet in some places and punched through to connect with Arbor Drive. Crews are also extending First Avenue to the north to create a new patient drop-off corridor.
Arbor Drive and Bachman Place are also being widened to accommodate buses and the planned protected cycling lanes.
Hauser, the Hillcrest resident, said that while the delay is frustrating, there is no question the upgrades are needed.
“It had to be done,” she said. “Bachman was very curvy and dangerous.”
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