CALTRANS BEGINS WORK TO IMPROVE
U.S. HIGHWAY 50 THROUGH PLACERVILLE
PLACERVILLE – The
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) joined officials from the
City of Placerville and El Dorado County today (Wednesday, May 10) to
officially break ground on a $35 million project to improve traffic operations
through Placerville.
Caltrans District 3 Director Jody Jones
joined State Senator Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks), El Dorado County Supervisor Jack
Sweeney, Placerville Mayor Pierre Rivas and Placerville City Council Member
Marian Washburn in a special ceremony to mark the official start of
construction on this long-awaited project.
Completion is expected in the fall of
2009. When complete, improvements will
include:
- A new
eastbound auxiliary lane from the Placerville Drive on-ramp to east of
Bedford Avenue
- Signal
upgrades at the Canal Street, Spring Street and Bedford Avenue
intersections
- Extension of Placerville Drive to
connect to a new alignment of Forni Road and Main Street, which will give
local traffic a new east/west travel alternative to US Highway 50, as well
to provide pedestrian and bicycle travel facilities.
- A new
Bedford Avenue Pedestrian overcrossing.
- Six new
retaining walls
- Relocating
5,000 feet of sewer pipe out of Hangtown Creek.
- Various aesthetic features and transportation
enhancement activity grant improvements.
Most traffic-interfering work will be
done at night when traffic volumes are low.
Caltrans urges all motorists to use caution and to “Slow for the Cone
Zone” during work hours and to be alert for personnel and equipment entering
and exiting the work areas.
Caltrans
is a department within the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency that
operates and maintains California's transportation system under the direction of
Secretary Sunne Wright McPeak and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. For more information about the department, please visit its Web site at www.dot.ca.gov.
Information about the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency is
available on the Internet at www.bth.ca.gov.
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