I-8 Projects Expected to Tie Up Traffic : Transit: Drivers are urged to find alternate routes and methods of transportation to ease congestion.

The California Department of Transportation has issued a traffic warning to drivers who use heavily traveled Interstate 8 in San Diego, where major projects are scheduled for the next year and a half.

One major construction project, between College Avenue and Interstate 15, has already begun. The $7.1-million project is expected to last until September, 1993, said Amy Watkins, spokeswoman for the Transportation Management Assn.

In an effort to ease congestion on westbound lanes, traffic officials are asking drivers to seek alternate routes or consider the use of car pools, buses or the San Diego Trolley.

Caltrans estimates that more than 28,000 vehicles use I-8 during the peak morning commute from 6 to 9, or about 9,500 an hour at an average speed of 56 m.p.h.

Fred Yazdan, chief of traffic operations at Caltrans, said, “Since last month when construction began, we found there was a six-minute delay the first day.”

Although traffic has subsided somewhat, there is still a two-minute delay in the area, with speeds averaging 40 m.p.h., Yazdan said. Longer delays are expected when construction of the Waring Road bridge begins next month, a project tentatively scheduled to end early next year.

Caltrans spokesman Kyle Nelson said other construction projects planned on the westbound lanes of I-8 include widening the Fairmount Avenue bridges, building retaining walls during construction and constructing sound barriers.

In addition, work will be done to relocate water, electric and phone lines under Alvarado Canyon Road, as well as to replace cracked freeway pavement.

“Workers also have to carefully contend with a gas line near the Waring Road bridge,” Nelson said.

At times, some traffic lanes will be narrowed to 10 1/2 feet wide for construction purposes, causing even slower traffic.

Another agency concerned with the I-8 project is Commuter Computer, a ride-sharing organization that is urging motorists to minimize delays by seeking different routes or forming car pools.

According to Mike Johnson, a spokesman for Commuter Computer, “one person can make a difference to be part of the transportation solution.” He said that 81% of the people who drive on I-8 do so alone; 14% car-pool and 3% use buses or vans.

“Employers need to play a big part in this and they need to educate their employees to get out of their single-occupancy car-driving and seek an alternative,” Johnson said.

For information on how to join a car pool, locate a Park-and-Ride lot or find another transportation alternative, call 237-POOL.

For more information on the I-8 construction projects, call 688-6670.