‘Our step to the future’: Capital Southeast Connector Expressway gets $25 million grant

Local elected leaders, including Reps. Ami Bera, D-Elk Grove, and Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, as well as Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper, gathered Wednesday in Rancho Cordova to praise the U.S. Department of Transportation’s $25 million infusion for the Capital Southeast Connector project.

The transportation project will turn a 3.6-mile segment of Grant Line Road from a rural two-lane road into a modern four-lane expressway with a path for bicycles and pedestrians.

“We’ve got a real opportunity to do this right, to grow and be really proud of what we’re doing,” Bera said during a press conference off of Grant Line Road. “This is our step to the future.”

When completed, the connector will link Interstate 5, Highway 99 and Highway 50 and give commuters an easier direct route from Elk Grove and the southern portions of Sacramento County to Folsom and El Dorado County.

The federal government announced the multimillion-dollar grant on June 26. Bera helped secure the funds and said the infrastructure project has been one of his priorities for more than a decade.

The Capital Southeast Connector project aims to reduce road fatalities along a narrow corridor that has been plagued by crashes over the years. From 2016 to 2020, there have been 125 collisions on Grant Line Road, according to a news release from Bera’s office.

Once complete, vehicle crash rates could be reduced by nearly 40%, according to project projections.

“Driving is the most dangerous thing people can do every day ... but we as policymakers can find ways to make it less dangerous to reduce these tragedies and this is a project that is going to do that,” said Kiley.

The project would help improve evacuation routes, shorten emergency response times and relieve traffic congestion in south Sacramento County, project officials said.

The infrastructure project is also expected to generate more than 11,000 jobs through 2030, according to the project’s website.