The City of San Diego said the eastbound lanes of Friars Road between SeaWorld Drive and Napa Street are expected to reopen as early as next week.

The City of San Diego said the eastbound lanes of Friars Road between SeaWorld Drive and Napa Street are expected to reopen as early as next week.

On Friday, crews were clearing weeds, removing barricades and packing up traffic barrels as they prepared to reopen the roadway.

“I’ve been watching this on forever, man,” one driver said.



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Construction on the stretch of Friars Road has been underway for five years as part of the Morena Pump Station, a major component of the city’s Pure Water program.

Work began in July 2021, when the westbound lanes were closed. Those lanes reopened in February 2025, when the eastbound lanes were shut down.

The closure has forced drivers and neighbors to take detours for years.

“I was driving down right now, and I was like, ‘This is sick.’ That’s made me kind of happy, honestly,” said Sevee, who lives in Morena. 

Sevee is one of many drivers who has to detour around the road closure.

“I live over in the neighborhood for two years now, and it’s like a direct shot to the beach. But it’s been one way for so long that I’m super excited to see it both ways now,” Sevee said.

The reopening is also welcome news for cyclists. Some bike access along the route has been disrupted by construction.

“It’ll be nice to have more protected area from cars to be able to cut from the bay back up like towards the east and uphill,” said Shay, a cyclist.

The city said the majority of the Morena Pump Station construction work along Friars Road is now complete. Crews have laid pipe along the roadway that will connect to the new pump station.

The Morena Pump Station is expected to divert an average of 32 million gallons of wastewater per day to be treated and purified as drinking water.

The Pure Water program is expected to provide nearly half of San Diego’s water supply locally by 2035.

“I mean, if it’s for clean water and everything, then I guess it’s for a good cause,” Sevee said.

The city said a contractor is now testing the pump station and reinstalling medians and traffic equipment in preparation for the reopening.