San Marcos Creek Project Awarded in 2024 ENR California’s Best Projects

The City of San Marcos has received an award of merit from Engineering News-Record (ENR) California for its work on the San Marcos Creek project, which included the construction of two bridges at Via Vera Cruz and Bent Avenue, along with a neighborhood park, 1.2 mile trail, sidewalks and bike lanes. Recognized as one of California's best construction projects in 2024, the Creek project celebrated a ribbon cutting ceremony just last week.

The San Marcos Creek project improves accessibility throughout the City of San Marcos while minimizing flood risk and preserving creek habitat. Over the course of the project, crews enhanced 1.5 miles of creek habitat and built a new neighborhood park and surrounding trail.

"This is a tremendous milestone for our City," said Mayor Rebecca Jones. "I'm so proud of all that we've accomplished through the Creek project. This was no small feat, and I'm glad that the largest infrastructure project we've ever taken on is getting the accolades and recognition it deserves."

The project is situated on a 100-year floodplain, which posed many challenges to the project team. To reduce the risk of flooding and potential work stoppage, construction was scheduled to coincide with dry seasons as much as possible.

Both the Pia Harris-Ebert bridge at Via Vera Cruz and Lionel "Doc" Burton bridge at Bent Avenue span over 500 feet each to mitigate risks from seasonal floodwaters. To complete this work, the project team built creek diversions and earthen dams to allow the team to work in mostly dry conditions. A 2,600 foot earthen levee serves as an essential protective measure south of the project area to avoid future flooding.

As the largest capital improvement project in City of San Marcos so far, the Creek project included the installation of more than a mile of storm drains, a box culvert, an 1,800 foot sewer main, more than 4,500 feet of new water lines and a mile-long joint trench system.

The City consolidated funding from 13 different sources to fund the project. Planning for the project spanned three decades and construction began in 2020.

ENR California ranks and surveys companies in the construction industry and is a source of news, analysis, commentary and data for professionals in the construction industry statewide. The 2024 ENR California's Best Projects competition honors a variety of projects with innovative design and construction methods.