A new route for Highway 49 in El Dorado County might improve safety and traffic flow, but some residents fear it also would increase pressure to develop rural lands.
Built to link California's Gold Rush towns, Highway 49 between Coloma and Placerville follows an old wagon road alignment. It also winds through Placerville's narrow residential streets and bisects Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma.
Although it provides a scenic route for leisurely travel, transportation officials say the highway is not adequate to handle increasing traffic loads. A study was recently launched to identify alternative alignments for an approximately 13-mile stretch between Coloma and the town of El Dorado.
"If you drive through the city of Placerville, you understand why it would be key to get alternatives," said Carl Hagen, the El Dorado County Transportation Commission chairman and a Placerville city councilman.
Officials stress that the realignment study is part of a long-range planning process. Construction of a new road or designation of a new route using existing roads won't occur for several years.
The primary objectives are to reroute the highway to bypass the state park in Coloma and eliminate the at-grade crossing of Highway 50 in Placerville, said Dan Bolster, a transportation planner with the county Transportation Commission.
But in a county known for land-use battles, residents are wary.
More than 100 people attended a forum sponsored by the county Transportation Commission in Placerville last week.
Some suggested that a new alignment could do more to promote growth than solve traffic problems.
"This was to be a historical route. It was not to be a swift parkway," said Diamond Springs resident Richard Boylan.
He and others said they fear a new roadway through agricultural and rural lands would encourage development and suburban sprawl.
Boylan said 19 residential and commercial projects proposed in the Diamond Springs area have been cited as a reason a new Highway 49 route is needed.
Some people argued that the Highway 49 designation should remain with the historic route. They suggested constructing a bypass to handle business traffic.
Transportation officials said public comment at the forum and through an advisory panel made up of various business, environmental and community groups would help guide the realignment study.
Potential alternatives will be discussed at a community meeting in August.
The study is to be completed and presented to the Transportation Commission in December.
For more information and comment forms, see the commission's Web site at www.edctc.org.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 608-7451.
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