When will toll lanes be installed on I-80’s Yolo Causeway? Caltrans gives timeline update
There are new preliminary start and completion times for the addition of toll lanes along Interstate 80’s Yolo Causeway between Davis and West Sacramento, according to Caltrans.
“The construction start date for the Yolo I-80 Managed Lanes Project is tentatively scheduled for the spring of 2025 with construction completed by fall 2027,” Caltrans spokesperson Sergio Ochoa Sánchez said in an email to The Sacramento Bee. The project will widen the section from six to eight lanes.
A key component is the addition of a high-occupancy toll lane in each direction for three or more riders while vehicles with less than three riders would pay a fee to use the lanes. The westbound lane will start at the I-80 interchange with Highway 50 in West Sacramento and end at the Mace Boulevard ramp in Davis. The eastbound lane will connect Richards Boulevard in Davis to the interchange.
“The new tolled express lanes are expected to reduce delays for motorists and improve goods and freight movement as some passenger vehicles and buses switch from the general-purpose lanes to the express lanes,” Sanchez said.
Construction along the Causeway has been ongoing for months in what Caltrans calls the I-80 Pavement Rehabilitation Project, which is separate from the Managed Lanes Project. Sanchez said the Pavement Rehabilitation Project “is rehabilitating pavement by replacing continuous reinforced concrete pavement, reconstructing existing pavement, bridge median expansion at two locations, and rehabilitating bridge decks.”
The Managed Lanes Project was expected to begin in the fall of 2024. Sanchez said the start of construction was pushed back “due to the contract approval process going into late fall, which could delay the start due to potential weather impacts.”
A lawsuit was filed against Caltrans by the Sierra Club and Environmental Council of Sacramento in May.
The lawsuit’s goal, according to the environmental groups, is to stop the widening of a 17-mile stretch of I-80 — part of which includes the planned new toll lanes — until Caltrans conducts a “valid” environmental analysis and implements mitigation against harmful affects of increased highway usage.
Caltrans spokesman Dennis Keaton recently told The Bee’s Tom Philp: “This Caltrans project has been thoroughly vetted by state and federal officials, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Highway Administration, and approved by the California Transportation Commission. The new tolled express lanes are expected to reduce delays for motorists and improve goods and freight movement as some passenger vehicles and buses switch from the general-purpose lanes to the express lanes.”
The Caltrans website says the entirety of the Yolo 80 Corridor Improvements Project is expected to cost $465 million. The California Transportation Commission approved $105 million of funding in May.
Caltrans said the project is needed to reduce congestion during peak commuting hours, which “exceeds current design capacity.”
Sanchez said toll revenue is expected to subsidize transit passes and help fund the Capital Corridor train line operated by Amtrak that connects the Sacramento region to the Bay Area, running from Auburn to San Jose. Revenue will also also support local YoloBus services and microtransit for disabled and elderly riders.
Sanchez noted the project is expected to improve bike and pedestrian connection at the Yolo County Road 32 railroad crossing. There will also be a park-and-ride lot in West Sacramento to encourage carpooling.
The project includes construction into West Sacramento along Highway 50 where it will meet the “Fix 50” project across the Sacramento River which is expected to be completed in summer 2025.
Construction in the area is expected to continue amid the Oakland A’s move to West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park next spring. The potential of increased traffic in the area is being accounted for while the construction to widen Highway 50 will continue.
“The project team has incorporated this into its planning schedule to try to minimize impacts to the traveling public and its ongoing projects,” Sanchez said.
This story was originally published August 9, 2024 at 2:49 PM.
