Caltrans' Highway 50 project in Sacramento on track to be completed by summer 2025
SACRAMENTO - The Fix50 Highway Caltrans project in Sacramento is now 85% complete and on track to be done by the summer of 2025.
The area is on Highway 50 roughly 15 miles from the Interstate 5 interchange in downtown to Watt Avenue.
People have gotten used to this slowdown during construction with closed lanes and exits, but Caltrans said when the widening is complete, drivers will notice a difference in the time they spend in traffic.
"It's a nightmare," said Jacquie Weber who travels through the construction two to three times a week. "It's really, really bad."
The project will create a carpool lane, one on each side of Highway 50 heading west and eastbound.
"When you're in the left lane and you have to jump over four lanes to get off, it's just so hazardous," said Barbara Opfermen who said she avoids traveling the highway when she can.
Since early 2022, Caltrans has been replacing medians and pavement that have been there since the 1960s and 1970s, blocking off lanes and exits to do the work.
"What the public will probably notice that most of the traffic-interfering work will be done before then," said Caltrans spokesperson Dennis Keaton.
That is because the work left after the slab replacements will be drainage signs and electric.
In the end, there will be an additional lane plus an extended auxiliary lane to allow people to exit sooner.
"I hope it's noticeable just how much time is being saved, especially if people utilize those carpool lanes," Keaton said.
During off-peak hours, the carpool lanes will be regular lanes to further cut down travel time even if you are riding solo.
"My son and I are just waiting for that center divide to be the permanent divide and for them to remove the other ones," said Brad Moore who lives in West Sacramento.
So why has the work that has caused some traffic confusion taken so long?
Keaton said it is because a lot of parts of the project are "elevated," or happening over city streets and neighborhoods. This plus the amount of interchanges that tie into 50 has caused construction challenges.
Caltrans does not have a date for when the carpool lanes will open.