The Del Mar City Council received an update July 7 on the status of the citywide utility undergrounding project, including the next sections that are being prepared for construction.
Stratford Court North, which has 36 poles spanning 175 properties, is expected to have the final 60% of design by San Diego Gas & Electric later this month, according to city staff. There has been a five-month delay due to SDG&E revisions and final reviews.
“Additional coordination was required as SDG&E revisited portions of the design,” according to a council agenda report. “Furthermore, during senior design review, SDG&E identified an outdated connection that no longer meets current reliability standards and must be replaced with a modern circuit switch. This upgrade will significantly improve system reliability and help minimize potential service outages. These efforts resulted in an approximately five-month extension to the design schedule.”
Preconstruction bidding is expected to take up to 12 months, and construction is expected to start in the second half of the 2026-27 fiscal year.
In the beach colony and 25th Street area, design is expected to begin in the coming months and take up to three years.
The City Council is also expected to consider financing guidelines and recommendations from the Finance Committee in August or September, following ongoing council discussions about the cost of citywide utility undergrounding.
Construction for Stratford Court South, which includes 56 poles across 227 properties, is complete with an $8 million estimated project cost. The city is in “administrative closeout,” according to city staff. Other improvements to the road, including repaving Stratford Court South and Little Orphan Alley, will take place as part of the 2026-27 Pavement Improvements Project.
“AT&T completed overhead removals in March 2026, approximately four months later than scheduled due to material procurement delays and design challenges at intercept locations,” according to the council agenda report. “Spectrum/Charter and Crown Castle completed their scopes without impacting the critical path. Spectrum/Charter began work as soon as feasible and reached full completion by November 2025. Crown Castle’s more limited scope was completed by early December 2025.”
Crest Canyon, which includes 82 poles across 152 properties, is in the middle of construction. The first two of three work zones have been completed. The third is scheduled to be completed in October. The total cost of the Crest Canyon portion of the project is approximately $13 million.