‘Freeways are a mess’: What West Sacramento residents think about proposed I-80 toll lanes

Kathryn Castillo has seen Interstate 80 clogged with vehicle traffic many times before, and she welcomes a Caltrans proposal to create toll express lanes that could alleviate some of the congestion that causes headaches for her and other West Sacramento residents.

“You get tons and tons of their cars in traffic,” Castillo said. “And there’s clusters of them. If they could go somewhere else, that would be great.”

She and a couple of dozen residents on Tuesday evening trickled into the West Sacramento Community Center to ask questions and share their concerns about Caltrans’ proposed $465 million express toll lane project for stretches of Interstate 80 and the Highway 50 portion of the Capital City Freeway.

Castillo, who recently retired, remembers driving to and from her job in Rancho Cordova. She said she remembers the morning and afternoon commutes were the busiest. Nowadays, freeway lanes are crowded with vehicles at all times of the day.

“Some days, you know, it was 20 minutes. And it’s OK. There’s been times it would take me over an hour to get home,” Castillo said. “In the middle of the day, if I have a doctor’s appointment or something, there’s just a backup for seemingly no reason. But all the freeways are a mess around here right now.”

The project would add a toll express lane in each direction for I-80 from the Solano-Yolo county line in Davis to West El Camino Avenue in Sacramento. A toll lane in each direction also would be added on Highway 50 from the junction with I-80 in West Sacramento to the I-5 junction just past the Pioneer Memorial Bridge and into Sacramento.

Caltrans officials said the toll lanes would reduce delays while encouraging transit usage and ride-sharing. The toll revenue is expected to help fund Yolo Transit District’s Yolobus and Amtrak Capitol Corridor rail services.

Castillo said she has some hope the project will reduce traffic congestion. She’s not sure local drivers will ever use the toll express lanes. She said gas prices and other vehicle costs already take a big portion out of their income, but she wouldn’t mind seeing commuters simply moving through the area pay extra to get through there faster.

“Like you do with you do with your (FasTrak) in the Bay Area,” Castillo said. “If you want to get there, use that.”

The meeting hosted by Caltrans, California’s highway authority, was the first of two public meetings to provide information about the I-80 toll express lane project and invite input from residents. The second meeting will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Mary L. Stephens Branch Library at 315 E. 14th St., Davis.

“We’re here to listen and take all the feedback in,” said Gurtej Bhattal, a Caltrans project manager. “Ultimately, the project is to relieve congestion through the corridor, which is one the most heavily congested corridors in the state.”

Bhattal said Caltrans is currently evaluating different options for a managed lane in each direction to reduce traffic congestion, including an express lane, a toll lane, a carpool lane or a bus-only lane. Every driver in an express lane would have to pay to use it, Bhattal said, while a toll lane could have a limit and be free to vehicles with four or more occupants.

The project would also add new electronic highway message signs, improvements to the Yolo Causeway bike path and a 300-space park-and-ride lot in West Sacramento.

The project is scheduled to start construction in October and wrap up in winter 2027, but that timeline is contingent on funding. Caltrans officials said the federal Department of Transportation issued an $86 million grant for the project in 2021, but that funding will expire if construction isn’t approved by the end of September.

Bob Schapert, a collections attorney who lives in West Sacramento, said California should be using vehicle registration fees and road and gas taxes it already collects to widen freeways to reduce traffic congestion. It shouldn’t be creating toll lanes that only some will be able to use.

He said allowing a toll lane is “just a slippery slope,” and predicted I-80 would be filled with toll lanes in just a few years. Schapert said clogged traffic lanes are “frustrating” for him and other drivers but the solution shouldn’t be “creating another class of taxpayer.”

“Now, we’re going to create a special class of people that can afford to use this fast lane,” Schapert at Tuesday’s community meeting. “What about the person in West Sacramento who maybe works at Taco Bell in Davis and needs to get to work? They’re gonna be stuck in traffic because they can’t afford the fast lane.”