Rancho Cordova moves forward on $182M Highway 50 interchange plan
Rancho Cordova’s City Council voted last month to move forward with a decade-old proposal to build a new $182 million Highway 50 interchange in the three-mile stretch between the Hazel Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard ramps.
The project planning phases are expected to continue throughout 2026 and are not yet finalized. The city has already budgeted for it in a multi-year Capital Improvement Plan.
To get drivers to and from the interchange, the city reaffirmed in its vote that it would construct about two miles of a new surface street. A stretch of Rancho Cordova Parkway would connect the highway to White Rock Road. The interchange would only serve drivers south of Highway 50, and the new arterial would cut through an area designated as a Superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency due to toxic waste dumped by the Aerojet General Corp. in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.
A City Council document said the interchange plan is meant to “alleviate regional congestion” on Hazel Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard. Over the last century, research has repeatedly shown that that building new roads or new lanes encourages more people to drive, and therefore does not relieve congestion in the long-term.
Caltrans previously approved a project report in November 2015.
In 2015, the interchange proposal was vociferously opposed by residents in Gold River; the interchange would abut the unincorporated community without going directly into it. Gold River lies outside Rancho Cordova city limits on the north side of Highway 50 and is bookended by Hazel Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard.
People who lived there were very concerned that the new highway infrastructure would increase traffic and pollution nearby. The Sacramento Bee reported at the time that one Gold River mother asked, “Would you be comfortable with an interchange in your backyard?”
This story was originally published November 9, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
