Encinitas awarded $830K grant for Leucadia Boulevard drainage project

The Encinitas City Council unanimously accepted an $830,430 grant on Oct. 12 from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services for a drainage project designed to reduce flooding at El Camino Real and Leucadia Boulevard.

The heavily traveled intersection has repeatedly flooded over the years after heavy rains, forcing road closures, according to a city staff report.

To fix this, the drainage project calls for creating channel embankments and streambeds at floodplains surrounding the intersection to improve the flow of a nearby creek. All told, about 4.5 acres of habitat in the area would be restored, the report states.

Besides preventing flooding, the project would also prevent stagnant water from building up, and thus cut down on the mosquito population.

The cost for all the work is estimated at $1,499,660.

In addition to the $830,430 grant, the city received a separate $500,000 grant last year from the county Vector Habitat Remediation Program for the project. The city will kick in the remaining $169,230.

The city is close to obtaining the necessary permits for the project, and construction is set to begin next spring.