The County of San Diego is working toward starting construction within the next two years on one of the three proposed roundabouts on the Del Dios Highway /Paseo Delicias corridor, at the eastern intersection of El Camino Del Norte. The roundabouts hope to offer a solution for long traffic queues and speed control through the Covenant, allowing for a continuous flow of traffic instead of the hard stops and starts of traffic signals or stop signs, according to county project manager Cynthia Curtis.

Roundabouts have also been proposed at the intersections at El Montevideo and Via de la Valle.

“Installing the first roundabout at this location would reduce the speed coming off of Diel Dios, increase the visibility and safety of the north-south leg of El Camino Del Norte and, visually, it will signify to drivers as they’re coming off of Del Dips that they’re entering the residential community of Rancho Santa Fe,” said Curtis, providing an update at the Rancho Santa Fe Association board’s April 2 meeting.

The community and the Association have a very long history with the roundabouts, going back over 20 years. The roundabouts were approved by the County Board of Supervisors in 2016 after Association members shared their preference for roundabouts over traffic signals in a community-wide survey. Four years later in 2020, Supervisor Jim Desmond was instrumental in finally getting county funding allocated toward the design phase of all three intersections.

County representatives have been out to Rancho Santa Fe several times during the design process over the last few years to share information, including hosting a town hall.

Curtis said there have been significant changes to the roundabout project following its review by the Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District. The fire department recommended changes for emergency vehicle access and wildfire evacuations. To ensure that all of the roundabout surfaces were mountable, the county removed the landscaping from the center island of the roundabouts and converted it into a stamped concrete rolled curb.

The fire department also required a minimum of 20 feet in the roadway, so the county had to widen the lane, adding a six-foot emergency shoulder.

A historic Rancho Santa Fe entry monument will be placed in the middle of the roundabout and landscaping will still be featured at the intersection along with decorative pavement, cedar split rail fencing, 10-foot-wide decomposed granite pathways linking to existing trails, and pole lighting that looks like the historic El Camino Real bells. Crosswalks will have pedestrian and equestrian-activated flashing beacons.

According to Curtis, $5.2 million in TransNet funding will be available for the eastern roundabout in mid-2027, meaning that construction could potentially begin in 2028.

“From the bottom of my heart, I’m grateful. I think I speak for most of the members here, we love to see investment from the county level as much as they’re willing to provide to us,” said RSF Association Board President David Gamboa. “I think our members feel like we’re good supporters of the county through our tax base…we appreciate your effort here.”

An additional $12 million will be needed to build the west and middle intersection roundabouts and county staff is continuing to pursue state, regional and federal funding opportunities. Curtis said the other intersections are slightly more challenging than El Camino del Norte due to the necessary right-of-way land acquisition required, such as near the Village Church at the western intersection of Via de la Valle.

At the meeting, RSF Association Vice President Jeff Simmons said he remains opposed to the roundabout as he does not believe there is a traffic issue at that intersection: “It’s just going to be a horrible disruption with no purpose.” Simmons said the county’s efforts and funding would be better served by moving to El Montevideo, which he believes to be the intersection that backs up the most. He was disappointed that any solution for that intersection remains years away.

Gamboa said that if Simmons had to commute to Escondido in the mornings from El Camino del Norte, he might have a different perspective. For years, residents have expressed the difficulty of making that left turn out across the highway to head east. Neighborhoods like those off El Camino del Norte are also impacted by the high speeds and high volumes of cut-through commuter traffic, which the roundabout hopes to help solve by keeping traffic flowing through the intersection.

In her comments, Director Courtney LeBeau said while it would be ideal to have funding for all three, the money is there now for the one.

“This is exciting, it’s 20-some years in the making we’ve been working on it,” LeBeau said. “It’s a start.”