Decorative Traffic Poles Bring New Life to San Elijo Lagoon
When the city of Encinitas, CA, was ready to expand the railroad near San Elijo Lagoon, they needed a supplier with unique design capabilities who could comply with Caltrans standards. In the process of expanding the railroad from a single to a double track, the city also wanted to match the existing aesthetics. Encinitas chose Valmont Structures because of our efficiency, custom design capabilities and ability to comply with Caltrans standards.
Encinitas is a Southern California beach city filled with historical charm. While many parts of the city had been updated to fit into this historical aesthetic, the southern communities near San Elijo Lagoon were still out of date. The city was not simply looking to improve infrastructure with this project, but also bring new vibrancy and life into these southern communities. Decorative options offered by Valmont Structures allowed for a charming design consistent with the rest of the city. Not only did Valmont offer the design Encinitas wanted, we were the only supplier capable of completing the design within current Caltrans standards.
Since the two intersections in this project cross the railroad, the city required a supplier that could stick to their unique schedule. They needed the decorative poles in 26 weeks, but the national industry lead-time for these projects was 30 weeks at the time. Valmont stepped up with a dedicated truck to ship in 23 weeks in order to fit into the tight project timeframe.
When choosing a design for this project, the city of Encinitas was drawn to Valmont Structures because of our unique fluting capabilities and decorative base offering. The 16 sharp fluting pattern chosen matched the historical pattern found throughout the city - and we were able to carry that 8 sharp flute pattern through on a signal mast arm. To finalize the design, the city chose one of our newly released aluminum base covers, the Dorsey Base Cover. Released in 2020, the Dorsey boasts a detailed, historic design and clamshell functionality for quick and easy assembly. See additional details about the Dorsey below.
Valmont Structures stayed true to our commitment to improve life through the work we do. In completing this project, we were able to create a better flow of traffic along the Pacific Highway and throughout one of the main communities in Encinitas. We also updated the infrastructure from a plain round tapered galvanized pole to the fluted decorative city standard. This decorative element created consistency throughout the city’s infrastructure and brought new life into the southern Encinitas community.
This project marked the first time Valmont has worked with Encinitas and the first intersection where the city used the new, larger, Caltrans standard poles. We have continued to work with the city of Encinitas and our pole designs are now being carried into other areas. This includes a total of 4 intersections and 44 streetlights placed throughout the city.
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