Crystal Cove construction to resume

Eight months after the project was interrupted because the state of California ran out of bond money, construction of the long-planned RV park and campground at Crystal Cove State Park will resume at the end of October, park officials said.

The 35-acre, ocean-view campground is likely to be one of the last ocean campgrounds to be built in the state. It promises a huge economic boon to the region.

“We just got confirmation from the Department of Finance that the project is now fully funded,” District Park Supt. Ken Kramer said. “This was one of 5,000 projects that was halted and is one of the first to be restarted after the successful sales of California bonds.”

The $10.5-million project was 40% complete when the economy crashed, bond values plummeted and the state could no longer write checks from bond sales to cover construction projects.

Because the project has been halted for nearly a year, it is expected to open by the end of 2010, Kramer said. The opening originally was slated for early 2010.

Kramer said the project was put at the top of the restart list because it was substantially complete and because “it will generate significant funds for the state when it opens.”

A meeting with the contractor, Los Angeles Engineering, is scheduled for this week.

Ironically, the struggling economy has helped keep restart costs low, Kramer said.

“Bids came in much lower [than expected]. The stars have aligned. We are very pleased to be able to bring back jobs to the area,” Kramer said.

The site will need to be cleaned up and some exposed structures replaced, but erosion is not a big problem, he said. The campground’s grading, utilities, sewer and water system, plus the foundations for restrooms and other infrastructure were finished when the project was shut down Jan. 21.

The campground and RV park will replace the El Morro Village mobile home park, which stood at the location for more than 50 years.

The lessee of the site fought a protracted legal battle to stop the state from taking it over and turn it into a public facility.