ROAD CONSTRUCTION: Caltrans attempts to break infamous bottleneck in Sacramento

During rush hour, there is not much to capitalize on while traveling the Capital City Freeway in Sacramento, Calif. However, that will soon change.

Caltrans announced plans to alleviate one of the state’s worst bottlenecks on Aug. 21, and it calls for the construction of an additional lane that will stretch another mile to the American River bridge. The daily rush-hour logjam around E Street is the result of five lanes narrowing down to three. The $6 million project will add a fourth lane.

“It is going to smooth out traffic and reduce the delay by 10%, which is huge for the [price],” Caltrans spokesperson Jody Jones told the Sacramento Bee.

The congestion relief will come at a price for those traveling local routes. In order to execute the work, the E Street onramp to the Capital City Freeway will be closed permanently. Lawmakers are worried the move will jam up local streets, but Caltrans said it would talk to city officials to see if better alternatives are out there.

One suggestion was to increase the number of lanes on the American River bridge, but the cost of doing that would be substantial. Caltrans has not ruled it out, but it is not going to happen anytime in the near future.

To help deal with the increase congestion on city streets as a result of the E Street onramp closure, officials may turn a piece of 30^th Street between D and E streets from a one-way to a two-way route.