The last leg of the multiyear widening of Interstate 80's notorious "Roseville bottleneck" could be started right away if funded through the federal stimulus package, Placer County transportation officials maintain.
"This project is 'shovel ready,' " said Celia McAdam, executive director of the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency.
On Wednesday, the agency's board voted unanimously to seek state legislation that would allow faster local funding from the state's portion of the stimulus package.
The legislation would change the formula used to divide state funds and those funds dedicated to the cities and counties.
The funding change would give more flexibility in spending the money, McAdam said.
"I don't know who would have a problem with this because it would get the federal money flowing faster, but few things get through the Legislature without debate," McAdam said.
"There has been some talk that changing the formula would amount to cherry-picking projects. But Caltrans is behind the change," McAdam said.
Interstate 80 in Placer County is critical because the freeway is the only all-weather crossing to the Sierra. Placer's I-80 bottleneck starts where traffic flow is quickly squeezed from 10 lanes into six, at the Placer-Sacramento county line.
With rapid growth in South Placer, that stretch of the freeway has became the spot where county residents, commuters, interstate truckers, Tahoe-bound travelers, Galleria shoppers and even casino patrons merge into one unhappy mess.
After years of increased congestion and drivers' complaints, state and Placer County officials in 2006 unveiled a $210 million plan to break the bottleneck with intersection improvements and additional lanes.
Work started the following year, but $4.5 billion in funding from Proposition 1B began to slow to projects throughout the state during the Legislature's budget impasse.
"That money is still not flowing, and we are not sure when it will flow," McAdam said.
The bottleneck's final phase, budgeted at $49 million, runs a little less than a mile on I-80 from near the Highway 65 interchange to the Placer County border at Cirby Way and Riverside Avenue. Carpool lanes and auxiliary lanes are to be built between interchanges.
"I would hope that now having the logjam broken and the momentum on the federal side, there might be some inspiration to see this thing through," McAdam said.
Call The Bee's Ramon Coronado, (916) 773-6866.
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