1. The Mid-Coast Trolley extension
project is the first expansion of the
San Diego Trolley system since the
2005 completion of the Green Line
to San Diego State University.
26 THE WHO’S WHO IN BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION DISCOVER MORE @ WWW.THEWHOSWHO.BUILD

2. ll aboard! Those are the words
that Jim Linthicum of the San
Diego Association of Governments
(SANDAG) looks forward to saying
when the Mid-Coast Trolley extension project is
complete. Utility and rail relocation work in prepa-
ration for the 11-mile extension of the San Diego
Trolley Blue Line is expected to be complete this
year. Construction of the trolley system is slated to
begin in fall 2016, with service starting in 2021.
The Mid-Coast Trolley extension project is the first
expansion of the San Diego trolley service since
the 2005 completion of the Green Line to San Diego
State University, and is the most complex transpor-
tation project in the region. The benefits include
improved access, reduced traffic, cleaner air, and
economic development gained through both con-
struction and long-term operations.
“It’s been in the works for more than a decade,” says
Jim, SANDAG’s Director of Mobility Management
and Project Implementation, “as is the case with
any major transportation improvement project, in-
cluding planning, environmental impact studies,
funding, community involvement, and engineering
and design.”
The extended line will begin at the Santa Fe Depot
in downtown San Diego and connect to University
City, often referred to as San Diego’s second down-
town, having three major medical facilities, a thriving
business district, and the Westfield UTC destination
MID-COAST TROLLEY
EXTENSION TO BRING
JOBS AND EASE
CONGESTION IN
SAN DIEGO COUNTY
KEY SANDAG LEADER SPEAKS ABOUT
REGION’S LARGEST AND MOST COMPLEX
TRANSPORTATION PROJECT
The extended Trolley line will begin at the Santa Fe
Depot in downtown San Diego and connect to University
City, often referred to as San Diego’s second downtown.
Shown here is an aerial simulation of the line near the
city’s Veterans Administration Medical Center.
A
by Theresa M. Casey
27POWERED BY THE BLUE BOOK NETWORK - SAN DIEGO AND IMPERIAL COUNTY 2016
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3. mall. It also will enhance direct public access to
other regional activity centers and improve travel
options for employment, education, medical, rec-
reation and retail activities.
STAGES LEADING TO CONSTRUCTION ARE
NEARLY COMPLETE
In fall 2014, the Mid-Coast Trolley received its final
environmental clearance from the SANDAG Board
of Directors and the Federal Transit Administration
(FTA). The FTA approved the project’s entry into final
engineering in April 2015. SANDAG is in the process
of securing a full funding grant agreement (FFGA)
from the FTA’s New Starts program. Anticipated in
mid-2016, the FFGA would provide 50 percent of the
project funding. TransNet, the San Diego region’s vot-
er-approved, half-cent sales tax for transportation im-
provements, will provide the other half of the total $2
billion budget. Interested parties can follow this and
other TransNet-funded projects on its website, www.
KeepSanDiegoMoving.com.
The project’s development plans are nearly ready. “The
design, led by WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff, is 95 percent
complete,” reports Jim. “SANDAG has a construction
manager/general contractor construction services
agreement with joint venture group, Mid-Coast Transit
Constructors (MCTC), comprised of Stacy & Witbeck
Inc., Skanska USA and Herzog Contracting Corp.”
MCTC is responsible for the cost and schedule-saving
design modifications, staging and constructability
review. The MCTC group also will have the first oppor-
tunity to present to SANDAG a guaranteed maximum
price for building the project. If the agency and MCTC
can reach an agreement on the price, MCTC will build
the project. If not, SANDAG will put the plans out to bid.
According to its website, the MCTC team is comprised
of civil constructors that have extensive experience in
self-performing rail and bridge work, and manages and
builds with their own forces. In fact, collectively, the
firms have constructed more than 600 miles of track
for passenger rail service over the past 10 years, with
over 30 rail transit projects totaling in excess of $4.7
billion in construction.
NEW LINE WILL CONNECT MID-COAST TO
OTHER SAN DIEGO COMMUNITIES
The Trolley extension route begins just north
of the Old Town Transit Center and travels in
an existing railroad right-of-way and alongside
28 THE WHO’S WHO IN BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION DISCOVER MORE @ WWW.THEWHOSWHO.BUILD
An artist’s rendering depicts
the future Pepper Canyon
Station at nighttime.

4. Interstate 5 to Gilman Drive. It crosses to the
west side of I-5 just south of Nobel Drive, and
continues on to serve the heart of the University
of California-San Diego (UCSD) campus. It then
crosses back to the east side of I-5 near Voigt
Drive to serve the UCSD east campus and Scripps
Memorial Hospital, transitions into the median of
Genesee Avenue, and continues down Genesee
Avenue to the Westfield UTC Transit Center.
The project will connect corridor residents with oth-
er trolley lines serving Mission Valley, East County
and South County. As an extension of the existing
Metropolitan Transit System Trolley Blue Line, it
will offer a one-seat (no transfer) ride from the in-
ternational border and from communities south of
downtown San Diego all the way to University City.
A total of nine new stations will be built at the fol-
lowing locations: Tecolote Road, Clairemont Drive,
Balboa Avenue, Nobel Drive, VA Medical Center,
Pepper Canyon (serving UCSD’s west campus),
Voigt Drive (serving UCSD’s east campus), Executive
Drive, and the Terminus Station at the Westfield UTC
Transit Center. Renderings of each station, as devel-
oped in conjunction with local community groups,
can be viewed on SANDAG’s Mid-Coast Trolley proj-
ect information page at www.sandag.org/midcoast.
A PROJECT THAT SUPPORTS AND
GENERATES JOBS
The Mid-Coast Corridor supports more than
300,000 jobs. On either end of the Mid-Coast
Corridor are two of San Diego’s largest employ-
ment centers. At the southern point, more than
80,000 people in a variety of sectors work in down-
town San Diego, most of whom commute from
various areas of the county. The University City/
Golden Triangle area supports more than 100,000
jobs. It has three major medical facilities—UC San
Diego Health’s Thornton Hospital, the VA Medical
Center, and Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla—a
thriving business district, several hotels, and
Westfield UTC, a major retail destination. UCSD,
with a 28,000-student population, also is located
in the northern portion of the corridor, and it sup-
ports thousands of additional jobs.
“In addition to these current jobs, the construc-
tion of the Trolley extension will generate more
than 14,000 direct and indirect jobs, nearly $900
million in payroll and over $2 billion in economic
activity,” Jim explains. “The total benefit of the
project over 40 years is estimated at $4.7 billion.”
MCTC is requesting disadvantaged and small
business subcontractors to reach out to them.
As a federally funded project, the overall dis-
advantaged business enterprise (DBE) project
goal is 11.3 percent, providing an estimated
$150 million in awards to DBE firms.
29POWERED BY THE BLUE BOOK NETWORK - SAN DIEGO AND IMPERIAL COUNTY / SPRING 2016
COURTESYOFSANDAG
SANDAG’s Director of Mobility Management and
Project Implementation, Jim Linthicum (right), walks
with Harry Mathis, Chair of the San Diego Metropolitan
Transit Service.

5. GET TO KNOW ONE OF SANDAG’S KEY
TEAM MEMBERS
Jim joined SANDAG as its Division Director of
Engineering and Construction when the agen-
cy consolidated with the Metropolitan Transit
Development Board in 2003. He was promoted to
his current position in 2010, a post that oversees
the agency’s construction projects, intelligent
transportation systems, transportation demand
management team, and 46 full-time staff mem-
bers. In addition to the Mid-Coast Trolley proj-
ect, Jim has been overseeing work on various
highway projects, bus rapid transit systems, the
Compass Card reloadable travel fare card pro-
gram, FasTrak on Interstate 15, van and carpool
programs, and the Freeway Service Patrol.
“What motivates me to come to work every day
is the opportunity to work with great people and
great project teams,” says Jim.
In his directorship role, Jim also serves as a
member of the SANDAG management team.
For sure, he is no newcomer to transportation.
Jim logged 23 years working at the California
Department of Transportation, including serv-
ing as the agency’s Deputy District Director of
Construction. Jim earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering
from Penn State University, and completed the
University of California-Los Angeles’ Engineering
Management program.
When he’s not working or spending time with
his family, Jim also donates his time as a board
member and mediator to the National Conflict
Resolution Center, which provides resources and
training to help people, organizations and commu-
nities manage and solve conflicts. He has been
involved in this organization for seven years.
The massive Mid-Coast Trolley extension project
promises to enhance quality of life for the trav-
eling public, offering an opportunity to save time
and costs, but with reduced dependence on auto-
mobiles. It also will provide virtually all San Diego
County residents with cleaner air and a healthier
environment. “This may be the most frustrating,
time-consuming, and anxiety-generating project I
have worked on,” says Jim, “but it certainly is the
greatest, most challenging, and rewarding project
anyone could ever work on. It’s a mega project
that we’ll be telling our grandkids about!”
An artistic rendering of the future Balboa Station located on Balboa Avenue. SANDAG worked with community
members to refine and develop design plans for each station.
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