Dirt Drops Off at Southwestern College

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More than 36,000 cubic feet of dirt will be driven from a project site in downtown San Diego and dumped onto Southwestern College’s vacant lot on the corner of East H street and Otay Lakes Road. This process is the first step in laying down the foundation for the new Wellness and Aquatic Complex at the Chula Vista institution.
The hauling process will see over 140 dump trucks travel up East H Street and enter through the Otay Lakes Road entrance onto Southwestern College’s premises every day for the next two weeks.
“There will be over a thousand double load dump trucks coming to Southwestern College to build up the aquatics area to be on the same level as DeVore Stadium and be integrated into this complex,” highlighted Jim Spillers, Dean of Wellness Exercise Science and Athletics at Southwestern College.
In order to accommodate the volume of trucks entering the college, student parking lot O will be closed. Along the two weeks that the dirt transfer effort will take, students will find signage advising drivers to enter parking lots through Gotham and Elmhurst streets. Pedestrians and students parked on nearby residential streets crossing Otay Lakes Road to get to Southwestern College will have a flagman to assist with traffic.
But even with all the movement, students have not been negatively impacted on their way to school. The college has been quick to send emails and make notices available to students about the traffic situation around the campus. 
Although this project has recently begun, the progress is certainly visible even at an early stage.
Construction on campus will not end once this new health center is complete. There are also plans to build a center for the arts where student work will be showcased to engage the community in creative expression.
“There is finally movement on this lot which has been vacant for such a long time. We are anxiously waiting for this project to be completed to keep building on campus,” said Dr. Angelica Suarez, Vice-President of Student Services.
With the eventual shutdown of the currently used facilities, the college has begun to plan accommodations for students looking to take physical education classes during the transition period.
“We have different agreements with organizations and we have a transition plan which allows for students to take aquatics courses in other facilities in the South Bay region,” assured Dr. Suarez in regards to the concern of aquatics courses missing for a period of time.
The transition will affect the intercollegiate basketball and volleyball programs. As described by Spillers, “[right now] it looks like the Jaguars will be off campus for one season but when we come back we are coming back with a bang.”
The state-of-the-art Wellness & Aquatics Complex, which will take the place of the currently used facilities, will feature upgraded locker rooms, training equipment and classrooms. The new gymnasium designed for the new center will be able to host up to 2,500 seated guests for the Jaguars’ basketball match ups and other events.
The aquatic facilities within the new structure will include two 50 meter pools, one designed with measures and specifications that meet the needs of competitive aquatic sports and a second pool featuring variable depth designed to be used for classes, recreational purposes and other purposes. A third 25 meter pool, designed for fitness programs offered at Southwestern’s current aquatic facilities, will also be housed at this future center.
“Everyone at Southwestern College is really happy because we will finally be able to show off that the support the voters have given us will finally pay off. We are always looking for something to improve for our students” Dr. Suarez stated.
The $52 million project was funded by Proposition R, which was a general bond that voters approved back in 2008.

Author

Mario A. Cortez