Elk Grove Trail Committee Reports on Whitelock-99 Interchange Stakeholders Meeting

September 17, 2014 | At their monthly meeting held on Monday night at city hall, two members of the Elk Grove Trails Committee report...

September 17, 2014 |

At their monthly meeting held on Monday night at city hall, two members of the Elk Grove Trails Committee reported on a recent stakeholders meeting held regarding the proposed Whitelock Parkway-Highway 99 interchange.

Providing the report on the September 3 meeting were committee Vice Chair Mark Doty and member Ken Mendenhall. Among the reported stakeholders in attendance at the two-hour meeting were members of the city's historical preservation group, disability committee,  trail committee, Cosumnes Community Services District and a design consultant formerly employed by CalTrans.

Reporting on comments on the proposed interchange, Mendenhall said there was uniform support for improving freeway access among the stakeholders, but not at the expense of impeding on the Elk Grove Regional Park. 

"Everybody wanted to preserve the park, get on the freeway, open up the west side (of Whitelock Parkway) and want to get the bike route through," he said. "It was nothing unexpected."

One of the alternatives discussed was an interchange that would only be accessible by motorized vehicles from the west side of Highway 99 that would allow exiting and entrance from that side. The overpass across Highway 99 would only be accessible to pedestrians and bicyclists.  

This proposed design was said to have minimal effect on the park as the access ramps would be smaller than vehicle exit-entrance ramps .  

"At this point, I want to stress, this is very, very preliminary," Doty added. 

Elk Grove Public Works civil engineer Jeff Werner said the proposed interchange is not likely to be completed until at least 2022. 

"Eight years from now is an aggressive schedule" Werner said. "It is more like 10 or 15."

Werner added that the completion of the interchange is dependent on how quickly the area develops, including the nearby Southeast Policy Area. 

Doty said there would be a public meeting regarding the proposed interchange sometime in October. City of Elk Grove spokesperson Christine Brainerd confirmed there would be a public meeting in late October or early November, but no specific date has been scheduled. 






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