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Transit Corridor Would Ease Congestion: Info Sessions Set on Linking Elk Grove to El Dorado County.

Posted on: Thursday, 16 March 2006, 12:00 CST

By Lakiesha McGhee, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

Mar. 16--Area residents are invited to attend information sessions this month about plans to link El Dorado County and Elk Grove with a new transit corridor. The Elk Grove-Rancho Cordova-El Dorado Connector will be the topic of community meetings Wednesday through March 29 sponsored by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments. The transportation planning agency proposed the project to alleviate congestion on nearby highways and two-lane roads, while providing a new corridor that would include lanes for automobiles, bicycles, buses and walking, according to the Web site www.sacog.org. The project also would link residential areas and job centers. Ken Hough, SACOG director of community planning and operations, said the agency is in the first phase of an environmental study, which involves a six-month effort to define the purpose and need for the connector.

"The purpose of the meetings is to keep people up to date on the process," he said, adding that residents also will have an opportunity to ask questions. The proposed connector has four alternative routes: It would loop around the southeast fringe of the core metropolitan area to link Interstate 5 to Highway 99 on the southern flank of Elk Grove. The connector would then pass through Rancho Cordova along Grant Line Road - or Bradshaw Road or Sunrise Boulevard - and connect to Highway 50 near Folsom and into El Dorado County. A conceptual plan for the project was approved by SACOG's board of directors in May, and staff members began working with other agencies in November to define how to implement it, Hough said. Once the purpose and need of the project are defined, the group will prepare guidelines for design and construction, develop a preliminary financial plan and begin the initial project development and environmental screening, Hough said. The project also involves using $15 million for seed money to preserve open space and wildlife habitat along the connector route. The project is part of SACOG's Metropolitan Transportation Plan 2025, a plan for transportation improvements in the six-county region. The connector is considered one of the agency's more extensive projects, Hough said. ------------ FIND OUT MORE Information sessions about the proposed Elk Grove-Rancho Cordova-El Dorado Connector. * Folsom Community Center, 52 Natoma St.; 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday * Rancho Cordova City Hall, 2729 Prospect Park Drive; 5:30 to 7:30 March 23 * Pleasant Grove Elementary, 10160 Pleasant Grove School Road, Elk Grove; 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. March 29 Source: Sacramento Area Council of Governments

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

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Source: The Sacramento Bee

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