Sacramento, here’s how your commute will change for better and worse in 2020

Congestion is a major problem in the Sacramento region. That’s what two-thirds of Sacramentans said in a recent poll by the Sacramento Transportation Authority.

In many communities, the pain likely will increase in the coming year, notably on key freeway bottlenecks in West Sacramento, Roseville and over the American River in central Sacramento.

But things should get better in 2020 on a few commute corridors and in some communities. That includes a growing niche in the mobility world: More Sacramentans will have access to non-car transportation options.

Here are some key projects that will make commutes a little easier in 2020, at least after the lane closures are done and the construction crews are gone.

Interstate 5 warning: Closures ahead

Reconstruction and expansion of Interstate 5 in south Sacramento will be one of the two largest projects in the region this year, and unfortunately probably the more intrusive.

Work started on the $370 million project in 2019 and will last through the end of 2022. The I-5 main construction zone stretches from the U.S. Highway 50 interchange on south to Elk Grove, with some additional work on I-5 in downtown.

Caltrans warns that its crews will close lanes and ramps at various times as part of the rebuild, The worst closures, though, are not expected to hit until 2021 when the freeway will close a number of times for 55 hours at a time.

When the project is done, the freeway will have an entirely new road surface and new lanes in each direction. Those will be used mornings and evenings as carpool and high-occupancy lanes, and has regular all-traffic lanes the rest of the day. The freeway also will have a taller center median, new drainage and modern technology to monitor traffic flows.

The project will reduce congestion, but not forever. Developers are planning several thousand housing units in the Delta Shores area of south Sacramento, with more housing likely to come in Elk Grove. That will add to the number of vehicles that will want to squeeze onto the freeway.

State gas tax: Pouring asphalt

Local governments are into the third year of added revenues from the Legislature’s state gas tax increase of 2017. One of the biggest players locally is Sacramento County which will pump $21 million of its state gas tax allotment in 2020 into resurfacing sections of 18 major streets in unincorporated areas, including Marconi, Madison, Hazel, Kenneth, Robertson, Watt and California avenues; Elkhorn and Rio Linda boulevards; and Saverien and Ashton drives.

That will mean closures on sections of those roads in 2020.

County officials say they are way behind the game, though. “The amount to fix this (street repaving) backlog is estimated to be around $712 million,” spokesman Matthew Robinson said in an email. “The $21 million (annually) in SB1 money is helping, but it won’t fix it all in one fell swoop.”

Microtransit comes to downtown

In an experimental effort to modernize its service in the Uber era, Sacramento Regional Transit has launched a handful of ride-share shuttle buses that you summon with a smartphone app (or call) to pick you up wherever you are, and drop you off wherever you want.

The service, which Sacramento Regional Transit calls SmaRT Ride, costs $2.50 per ride, and is currently available in Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova and along a section of Florin Road. SacRT will triple the microtransit program in January 2020 by adding shuttles in downtown/midtown Sacramento, Arden Arcade, Carmichael, Folsom, North Sacramento and the Vineyard area.

The service is part of a bigger “multi-modal” push by local leaders, especially in denser, urban areas, allowing commuters to leave their car parked for some trips, and instead opt for some combination of microtransit, Uber, Lyft, RT light rail, Gig electric rental cars, as well as walking on safer routes, cycling on more bike lanes, and renting e-scooters and e-bikes.

In West Sacramento, that includes the Via microtransit service.

U.S. Highway 50: New lanes

Caltrans will move into the heavy lifting stages of its planned carpool-lane extension project on U.S. Highway 50, including the W-X portion of the Capital City Freeway, adding new lanes from Watt Avenue into downtown Sacramento.

The $324 million-plus project, some of it from SB 1 gas tax funds, will mean carpools, buses, motorcycles and drivers of zero-energy cars will have a full lane to themselves during commute hours from El Dorado County to the I-5 junction in downtown Sacramento. Caltrans also plans to meet a federal requirement to raise seven overpasses to make room for taller trucks.

Construction contract will be awarded next month, although construction state date has not yet been determined. Work will extend through 2023.

East county ‘beltway’ grows

Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove and county officials are slowly turning White Rock and Grant Line roads into a four- and six-lane beltway called the Capital Southeast Connector.

This year, White Rock Road between Prairie City Road and East Bidwell Street in Folsom will be expanded. In Rancho Cordova, another section of White Rock will be widened leading into Rancho Cordova’s 80,000-job industrial, office and technology district. Rancho Cordova also is widening Zinfandel Drive to make it easier for buses, bicyclists and pedestrians to get to Rancho’s job centers.

“We are trying to be transportation leaders,” Rancho Cordova Mayor David Sander said. “We have the largest concentration of private sector jobs in Northern California. That creates a regional-level responsibility that forces us to think beyond our boundaries.”

The beltway project continues to be a lightning rod for debate. Advocates say the connector is sorely needed to relieve commute congestion on Highways 50 and 99. “The focus here is safety, easing congestion, parallel capacity to U.S. Highway 50 and beautification,” Rancho Cordova officials said in an email.

Detractors say the road is promoting sprawl development leading to more congestion. They point to recent construction south of U.S. Highway 50 in Folsom, where 25,000 new residents eventually will add to congestion on the connector beltway and on U.S. Highway 50 via several planned new interchanges.

Buses to Sacramento airport

A light rail extension to Sacramento International Airport remains a far-off wish due to its billion-dollar cost. In the interim, many have long advocated for timely bus service. This year, they’ll get it.

Transit agencies in Sacramento and Yolo county are joining to launch frequent bus service to Sacramento International Airport. Starting on Sunday, Jan. 5, RT will add the No. 142 bus route to join with Yolobus downtown-airporters routes 42A and 42B to give people airport service every 20 to 30 minutes, seven days a week.

Details are available on the RT’s airport bus website page.

‘Causeway Commuter’

In April, SacRT, UC Davis and Yolobus will launch an extensive series of express commuter buses between Sacramento and Davis, with stops in downtown Sacramento and an eastern terminus at the UC Medical Center. The bus is available to all commuters, and replaces a previous bus for UC Davis employees only. For more information, go to https://www.sacrt.com/apps/new-uc-davis-shuttle-service/

There is some talk of squeezing an extra lane over the causeway in each direction, to be used by buses and high-occupancy vehicles. That appears to be at least a few years away, though.

New transportation taxes?

Perhaps the biggest transportation news of 2020 won’t be actual construction. In November, transportation officials in Sacramento and Placer counties are likely to place transportation sales tax measures on the ballot.

Both counties say the SB1 state gas tax increase has been a major boon, but with expected growth in the area, that money is not enough. In fact, to qualify for some competitive grant portions of the SB 1 funding, local counties have to have a chunk of local money to put into the project.

Sacramento County already has a voter-approved half-cent transportation sales tax that will expire in 2039. The plan - led by some county supervisors and members of city councils - is to ask voters to approve another half-cent for more transportation projects for 40 years or perhaps indefinitely. The list of proposed spending categories include:

▪ 38 percent for local street repair, rebuilding and safety improvements.

▪ 32 percent for congestion relief projects, including freeway interchanges, carpool or toll lanes and the Capital Southeast Connector road project. Some also would go to commuter rail programs.

▪ 24 percent would go to new buses, safety and security on buses and light rail, new low-floor zero-emission light rail cars, and further funding for a public transit ride-share program SmaRT Ride.

South Placer Tax

Meanwhile, the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency is looking at putting a half-cent transportation sales tax measure on the ballot in four contiguous south county cities: Roseville, Rocklin, Loomis and Lincoln.

Only residents of those cities would vote on the tax. The tax would apply only in those cities. And the revenues would be focused on projects that enhance mobility in those cities.

The biggest share of the tax revenue would likely be allocated to remodel and expand the Interstate 80/Highway 65 interchange. Some of the money also likely would go to expanding Highway 65 up to Lincoln, and to complete a rail track expansion that will eventually allow up to 10 commuter trains a day between south Placer and downtown Sacramento and on into the Bay Area.

Three mega projects beyond 2020

We wonder sometimes which is the worst freeway bottleneck in the Sacramento region. Three candidates come to mind: the jam up over the Yolo Causeway, the bottleneck on the Capital City Freeway over the American River, or the perpetual stop-and-go traffic on Highway 65 at Interstate 80 in Roseville?

In each case, plans for widening projects are in the works, but you won’t see work on any of the freeways for several years.

Yolo Causeway widening: Caltrans in 2020 will be conducting design studies to try to decide how to widen the causeway and add a lane in each direction between Davis and West Sacramento. Work, though, is unlikely to start before 2023.

Capital City Freeway widening: Planning is underway to expand the Elvas portion of the freeway over the American River. Work on this one also is unlikely prior to 2023. This would include a bike and pedestrian pathway.

I-80/Highway 65 widening: Placer officials just finished a small part of this massive interchange reconstruction project, but don’t have money yet for the main work. Meanwhile, south Placer officials continue to green light more homes, which means more cars. The current funding hope, mentioned above: Roseville, Rocklin, Loomis and Lincoln are contemplating asking voters in November to increase their sales tax. That revenue would be used as leverage to try to win state and federal road grants.

This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 5:00 AM.