FOLSOM, Calif. — The long-awaited Folsom segment of the Capital Southeast Connector Expressway is now complete and open to motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.
This is phase 1 of the planned 34-mile expressway that will connect Interstate 5 in Elk Grove to Highway 50 in El Dorado County.
Labor groups, business leaders and federal, state and local officials will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the milestone. The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26 near the corner of East Bidwell Street at White Rock Road in Folsom.
White Rock Road from Prairie City Road to East Bidwell Street has been fully reconstructed. It is now a higher-capacity four-lane expressway.
Mark Rackovan is the Folsom Public Works Director, and he said the road aims to make commutes safer.
"It was designed with wider shoulders and fewer curves than the rural two-lane country road that it replaced which was the White Rock Road," Rackovan said. "This was a road that was prone to a higher-than-average number of collisions, prone to flooding."
Lal Kang lives in Rancho Cordova, and he travels to Folsom at least once a week for a grocery run. He said once you hit White Rock Road, traffic often loosens up and it's a better experience overall.
"It's nice to have four lanes. It’s better than Grant Line which has two lanes right now," Kang said.
The 3-mile segment also includes new traffic signals, improved intersections, bridges over Alder Creek and a Class 1 bike/pedestrian trail. A Class 1 bike trail means it is separate from other roadways and is reserved for walking pedestrians and bicyclists.
Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, a local cycling group will take an honorary first ride on the new section of the trail, according to the City of Folsom. This bike and pedestrian trail will ultimately be a separated 35-mile-long regional Class 1 bike trail.
The city of Folsom believes the following benefits will come of the Capital Southeast Connector Expressway:
- Provide regional traffic congestion relief and better access to job centers
- Dramatically improve vehicular and pedestrian safety
- Enable more efficient goods movement
- Enable more efficient farm-to-fork agricultural commerce
- Reduce vehicle miles traveled and improve regional air quality by reducing pollutants
- Create a backbone of south county bicycle infrastructure
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