State grants Encinitas permission for two Leucadia rail crossings

Encinitas has just received a preliminary ruling from the California Public Utilities Commission that will allow it to build two, long-sought, at-grade crossings over the railroad tracks in Leucadia, the city manager announced.

“This is big,” City Manager Jennifer Campbell declared at the very end of Wednesday’s City Council meeting as she announced the news and praised the “huge team effort” it took to get to this point.

Audience members cheered, council members bumped fists, and the mayor declared, “Holy cow.” The two proposed crossing points — one at Grandview Street and one at Phoebe Street —  would go within a 1.3-mile stretch of railroad tracks between La Costa Avenue and Leucadia Boulevard where there currently are no legal crossing spots.

A CPUC administrative law judge, who has been reviewing the city’s application, has issued a preliminary ruling in favor of the new crossing points, Campbell said, calling this the “first big hurdle” to launching a construction project that’s been years in the making. The next step will be the judge’s formal ruling, “which we anticipate within the next three to four months, so, please, everyone keep your fingers crossed,” she said.

Project design and permitting work is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, and “funding for construction will be needed by the beginning of 2027,” Campbell continued. A project update posted on the city’s website indicates that the design drawings were 35% complete by...