Caltrans project drags on, still no lanes

Jan. 15, 2013

By Katy Grimes

For at least four to six months, the Capitol City Freeway (I-80) in Sacramento has been devoid of painted lanes.

I took this photo last week, driving West on I-80, near P. Street, and the Hwy. 99, Hwy. 50, interchange. This is what this section of freeway has looked like for months. I was on the freeway again over the weekend, and it looked the same.

While Caltrans has been resurfacing this section of I-80 at a snails’ pace, drivers have had to fend for themselves.  This resurfacing has taken months… probably six months at this point in time.

Frankly, I am impressed with Sacramento drivers. The Capitol City Freeway, I-80 dissects downtown Sacramento and is one of the most heavily used freeways in the vicinity. So far, I’ve only seen near collisions, bumper rubs, really bad lane changes, and lots of honking and middle-finger salutes. I started avoiding that section of freeway when possible.

Two months ago, I tried to locate information about the project on the Caltrans website, but merely got a couple of dead links, and could not find the name of the project manager. But other projects were listed, and included the names and phone numbers of the project managers.

Monday, I finally stumbled on this when I searched the Caltrans website for ‘Hwy 50’ and ‘Capitol City Freeway’:

US 50

    [IN THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AREA]
MOTORISTS ARE SUBJECT TO LANE REDUCTIONS IN EACH DIRECTION FROM 9TH ST
TO 34TH ST /IN SACRAMENTO/ (SACRAMENTO CO) FROM 1000 HRS TO 1700 HRS MONDAY
THRU FRIDAY THRU 1/14/13 – DUE TO CONSTRUCTION

and this:

– CAPITAL CITY FREEWAY
THE SOUTHBOUND CONNECTOR TO EASTBOUND & WESTBOUND US 50 /IN SACRAMENTO/
(SACRAMENTO CO) IS CLOSED FROM 2300 HRS EACH NIGHT TO 0500 HRS EACH MORNING
TUESDAY THRU THURSDAY THRU 1/17/13 – DUE TO CONSTRUCTION – A DETOUR
IS AVAILABLE

According to Caltrans, the road project is supposed to end Jan. 17. What a coincidence! I wonder if they will add lanes, instead of the free-for-all this section of freeway has become.

I am stunned that California’s transportation and road work agency has allowed this resurfacing project to drag on so long, and never even put in temporary lane stripes. Driver safety is such a risk, I’m shocked that a television crew hasn’t been out here filming.

What is this state coming to? Is there any accountability? And why doesn’t Caltrans make it easy to call?