Late this year, drivers traveling westbound along Rancho Bernardo Road toward Interstate 15 might want to find alternative routes to avoid delays.
Up to two westbound lanes of RB Road, just east of the freeway and adjacent to The Mercado, will be closed for work on the Ramona Pipeline during at least a couple weeks between November and January 2027. The exact date is not yet known.
The San Diego County Water Authority uses the east-west 8-mile-long pipeline to deliver treated water to various local agencies. It goes from Camino del Sur at its intersection with Rancho Bernardo Road in 4S Ranch, through Rancho Bernardo along RB Road to Espola Road in Poway.
Craig Balben, an SDCWA public affairs representative, and Rebecca Cole, a consultant and public outreach specialist on SDCWA’s Ramona Pipeline Improvements Project, gave an update at the Feb. 5 Rancho Bernardo Community Council meeting.
They had spoken to the council last February to ask for community feedback on this project. This time, they said their biggest update was that the project had been split into two phases, with Phase I consisting of Sites A-C while Phase II will have Sites 1-10.
The design portion of Phase 1 just wrapped up and the water authority is getting ready to invite bids on the project, according to Balben.
While Phase I is starting this year, Phase II is not set to begin until fall 2027 and conclude in late 2028.
Exactly when in the November 2026 through January 2027 time period work will happen at Site C, near FedEx and the entrance into The Mercado shopping center, is not yet known. That is the period for all Phase I work, which will be occurring at three sites, dubbed A, B and C.
Sites A and B will not have much impact on drivers. Cole said. They are near the intersection of Bing Crosby Boulevard and Artesian Road in Del Sur and westbound Rancho Bernardo Road, west of Silver Crest Lane, near the Sheriff’s substation in 4S Ranch.
It is Site C — at a “very highly trafficked” area — that will cause issues, Balben said.
San Diego County Water Authority has a Ramona Pipeline vault and valves in this area of Rancho Bernardo Road that needs work later this year. (Elizabeth Marie Himchak)
Cole said drivers are being encouraged to consider alternative locations to reach I-15, such as via Pomerado Road or Bernardo Center Drive. She added that all the driveways into the nearby Mobil/Circle K gas station and The Mercado will remain accessible so people can access the businesses.
Work is anticipated to be 24/7 for approximately 10 days at each site. Noise, dust and night lighting will be involved, Balben said.
“The work that we are going to do on this pipeline is going to impact the Rancho Bernardo community,” Balben said, adding the water authority wants to hear concerns from the community.
One of the benefits to breaking the project into two phases is that it spaces out the impact to the community over time. It also addresses conflicts with existing utilities, he said.
The entire project involves work on 11 buried valves in new vaults, four new 54-inch turnout valves in existing structures and relocation of cathodic protection test stations from their current in-street locations to the side of the road.
“We tried to design the project to minimize impacts as much as possible,” Balben said.
Since Phase II is in the design stage, Cole and Balben said they will return to the council with additional details on it in the future.
The 10 Rancho Bernardo sites in Phase II are:
• On eastbound Rancho Bernardo Road, near Arco.
• Rancho Bernardo Road (eastbound side) and west of Acena Drive, near The Remington Club.
• Rancho Bernardo Road (eastbound) and east of Bernardo Oaks Drive – near homes in the Seven Oaks neighborhood.
• Rancho Bernardo Road (westbound) and Pomerado Road, the corner near the Valvoline Instant Oil Change station.
• Rancho Bernardo Road (westbound), east of Cresta Drive, near homes.
In Poway they are:
• Espola Road and Avenida Florencia, near homes.
• Espola Road (westbound) and Cloudcroft Drive, near The Farm.
• Two sites — one at the corner of Espola Road (westbound) and Westling Court. In addition, the project’s proposed staging area for equipment and materials storage is on a big dirt lot on the eastbound side of Espola at this intersection.
• Espola Road (northbound), north of Country Day Road.