Road work on Nordahl, Woodland, surrounding streets
Published on October 13, 2026
Road improvement work is starting this week on Nordahl Road between the 78 freeway and Center Drive, Center Drive and Avenida Ricardo, as well as portions of Woodland Parkway, Barham Drive and Rancheros Drive near the 78 freeway.
The city understands that traffic can already be challenging along Nordahl, and is planning some work at night to help reduce traffic impacts to the community. Work in the Nordahl area is anticipated to be complete by Nov. 15, ahead of the holiday season, and before El Niño conditions arrive, then move to the Woodland Parkway area.
Day work, 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
- Center Drive
- Avenida Ricardo
Night work, 8:30 p.m. – 6 a.m.
- Nordahl Road
- Woodland Parkway
- Barham Drive
- Rancheros Drive
Since these are major roadways called arterials, most of the road work will be done at night to help reduce traffic impacts to the community and meet permitting requirements with Caltrans and NCTD. Nightwork is anticipated to start on Monday, October 26. However, construction closer to residential areas will be done during the day to help reduce nighttime construction noise impacts as much as possible.
Residents near these areas will get a doorhanger notice 72-hours before crews do night work or the overlay work.
Tips for drivers
- This is already a busy area and additional traffic delays are likely during construction. Please give yourself plenty of time to get where you need to go.
- Two-way traffic will be generally maintained; flaggers may direct traffic.
- Watch for construction signs along main thoroughfares for specific dates.
Road work will happen in phases over several weeks
- Crews will start working at the intersection corners to do new ADA-compliant concrete pedestrian ramp improvements.
- Asphalt repairs will be done to prep the road.
- Then the layer of asphalt pavement will be applied, called overlay.
- After the pavement has time to cure, crews will come back to install striping including high visibility crosswalks and bike lanes with bike buffers where feasible.
These streets have a lower Pavement Condition Index and require an overlay, which includes grinding a couple of inches from the top of the roadway and adding new asphalt over the top before restriping. It’s a more expensive and time-consuming process that results in a new-looking roadway that will last for years.
The work on these streets is in addition to the slurry seal maintenance road work the city is doing on other residential streets and some arterials like Borden Road and Melrose Drive. Slurry seal is a cost-effective way to improve drivability and save money by extending the road’s life by five to seven years.
We understand that construction projects can be disruptive. We have planned this work to minimize inconveniences as much as possible, and we appreciate your patience during construction as we make sure our roads are in good condition for our community.
Contact
construction@sanmarcosca.gov
760-744-1050, ext 4040
Other commonly asked questions are on the project webpage.