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‘Outdated’ structures near Elk Grove on CA-99 will see ‘upgrade’ from Caltrans

“That whole corridor along CA-99 has been looked at pretty much for the last five years because of the congestion issues along that corridor.”

ELK GROVE, Calif. — Caltrans is planning work on a bridge replacement project for California Highway 99 that could impact the area between Dillard Road, an area near Elk Grove.

“It was already on the radar for improvements, just because of the age and how long it's been outdated already,” said Dennis Keaton, spokesperson for Caltrans District 3.

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“That whole corridor along CA-99 has been looked at pretty much for the last five years because of the congestion issues along that corridor,” he added.

In response to some of those issues, Caltrans is looking at the scope of work in the area between Dillard Road Overcrossing and Grant Line Road that would include:

  • Replacing four bridge structures with two bridges spanning the width of the roadway - impacting the Cosumnes River Bridges and the Cosumnes River Overflow Bridges.
  • Improvements to Dillard Road Overcrossing.
  • Relinquishing the McConnell Underpass.
  • Building a southbound McConnell overhead structure next to the current McConnell overhead northbound structure or replacing the existing northbound McConnell overhead structure with a single McConnell overhead structure for both NB and SB CA-99.
  • Realigning the SB lanes of CA-99 to align with NB CA-99.
  • Abandoning the Eschinger Road on and off ramps from southbound Highway 99, due to the realignment of the southbound Highway CA-99 lanes.

While Caltrans considers the scope of work to be improvements, they have gotten pushback on the potential closure of Eschinger Road from the farm bureau and the City of Elk Grove, according to Keaton.

Due to the realignment of the CA-99 lanes in the project, the current on and off ramps won’t allow for a connection to a realigned SB CA-99. The rationale behind that closure has to do with driver safety and the visibility of whoever comes on and off the freeway.

However, Keaton noted that Caltrans is still in the preliminary meeting stages, which means people can express their concerns about different aspects of the project.

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Other elements include impacts to the southbound McConnell underpass. Part of Caltrans work with the project is to relinquish the underpass to the County of Sacramento, then, when they build a new structure, that underpass will not be part of the new structure.

While these structures set for improvement are described as aging, outdated, and worn, Keaton acknowledged that the structures are still safe.

“A lot of this has to do with an aging infrastructure and part of what our responsibility is at Caltrans is to make sure that a lot of the structures that are out there get updated,” Keaton said.

“These structures are safe to travel on,” he added. “There’s nothing wrong with them. It’s just that they are outdated and they’ve been worn. So, they need to be replaced here.”

If any of the elements in the project’s scope is a concern, Keaton encourages people to contact the public information office at Caltrans to voice that concern. He also encourages people to keep an eye out for public meetings as the project gets nearer.

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