A $57 million contract will widen El Camino Real to four lanes and replace the 84-year-old San Dieguito River Bridge near Del Mar. The project stretches from Half Mile to Via de la Valle.

Swedish construction firm Skanska announced Wednesday, Sept. 2, that it signed the deal with the City of San Diego, according to a company press release. The contract will appear in Skanska's U.S. order bookings for the third quarter of 2026.

Construction is scheduled to begin in December 2026 and finish in August 2030. The project will take roughly four years.

What the project includes

Beyond the road widening and bridge replacement, the contract calls for separated bike lanes, new sidewalks, improved traffic signals and an equestrian-friendly trail beneath the new bridge. Drainage upgrades and riverbank stabilization along the San Dieguito River are also part of the scope, aimed at reducing flooding and erosion.

Skanska said in its announcement that the improvements will provide a more reliable connection between Del Mar, Solana Beach and surrounding communities for motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians.

Why it matters locally

The existing bridge and corridor have long been a bottleneck. City of San Diego engineer Dean Marsden told the San Dieguito Planning Group in February 2014 that the bridge had been deemed "structurally deficient." It would not allow 100-year floodwaters to pass beneath it, he said.

Traffic at the corridor was already rated Level F during peak hours at that time, with daily trips projected to increase by nearly 200% by 2035. Those figures are more than 12 years old.

The project also carries trail implications. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported in June 2026 that by 2030, after El Camino Real is widened and a trail crossing is built under the new bridge, the inland portions of the Coast to Crest Trail will connect to the coast in Del Mar.

Who holds the contract

The contract is between Skanska and the City of San Diego, not the City of Del Mar. The corridor between Half Mile and Via de la Valle straddles the San Diego-Del Mar boundary, and the exact jurisdictional breakdown was not detailed in the announcement.

No statement from Del Mar city officials about the project has been made public. The funding breakdown for the $57 million contract, including any federal, state or local shares, was not specified. No public comment period or community meeting on the project has been announced.