How your Sacramento commute is suddenly harder: Construction, congestion and crashes

Motorists, be warned: The dreaded three C’s – congestion, construction and collisions – have returned to Sacramento roadways.

As the coronavirus pandemic recedes in the rear-view mirror, Sacramento freeways are again filling up, leading to fender-benders and serious crashes as drivers struggle to re-acclimate to the old normal of stop-and-go commute traffic.

To add to the degree of difficulty, the state last week launched a historic and highly visible demolition project on the elevated W-X section of the Capital City Freeway, which has required crews to shift lanes to one side and temporarily reduce lane widths by one foot. One driver referred to that section of freeway now as a dangerous “video game.”

The state has imposed a 55 mph speed zone on Highway 50 through central Sacramento, and it has marked off several awkward sections of the freeway with solid white lines between lanes, instructing drivers to stay in their lanes through that section.

Despite that, some drivers have not slowed, the California Highway Patrol and Caltrans report. “We’re seeing people speeding and that is a problem,” Caltrans spokeswoman Angela DaPrato said. “We’ll monitor the situation and make adjustments as needed.”

It’s prompting the CHP to warn drivers to put aside distractions and knock the rust off their urban driving skills.

Drivers had gotten used to light traffic during the pandemic, which prompted more speeding, highway patrol officials said. Now, Sacramento CHP spokesman Jim Young said, the agency is seeing an uptick in congestion-related collisions such as rear-end crashes.

Two fatalities have been recorded along Highway 50 in central Sacramento in the last month, one of them a collision involving a motorcycle near 59th Street. In the other, a driver was killed when he veered into the center divider near 16th Street. Earlier this month, a driver traveling 90 miles per hour crashed on the Capital City Freeway. A crash three weeks ago on Highway 99 north of Sacramento caused three deaths.

The spring season means more highway construction as well, with projects currently underway on a handful of local freeways. The most dramatic of those is taking place on Highway 50 in central Sacramento.

There, on the elevated portion of the freeway, known as the W-X section, Caltrans has shifted traffic lanes in both directions to the right and reduced widths from 12 feet to 11 feet to make room along the median for crews to cut off a three-foot slice of the inside edge.

That has proved to be problematic on the often-congested section of freeway where merges and lane changes are difficult even under normal circumstances.

“Caltrans created a video game-like nightmare that causes mass confusion and a dangerous atmosphere,” driver Mark Wells said. “The lanes, marked clearly with solid white lines (when the light is just right and not obscured by twilight glare) shift abruptly and you’re left hoping your lane neighbors also see the shift.” If they don’t, they’ll “end up in your lane.”

The demolition work will take two months, Flatiron Construction project manager Robert Ferrouge said. It will include lane closures in both directions, most likely at night, as crews remove the rubble from the deconstruction.

Currently, crews have been shutting down two lanes in the eastbound direction each night to make room for the demolition crews.

When the demo is done, Caltrans’ construction contractors will add a new bridge section connecting the two existing bridges, widening them both to make room for a new carpool/high-occupancy lane in both directions. That new Highway 50 lane will run from Watt Avenue to Interstate 5.

FREEWAY EXPANSION

Map: NATHANIEL LEVINE | Source: Caltrans

The project requires large equipment to be stationed on the freeway, separated from traffic by temporary concrete barriers. As well, several streets underneath the freeway will be closed intermittently as crews drop rubble from the elevated freeway into a temporary construction zone below.

Caltrans spokeswoman DaPrato asked drivers both on the freeway and below to give workers space and courtesy.

“Motorists are definitely going to see a big increase in activity,” she said. “We don’t want lookie-loos. It is going to be challenging for folks because of curiosity.”

This story was originally published May 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.