The project includes adding 23 miles of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, improving ADA ramps, constructing two sound walls to reduce noise in nearby neighborhoods, and installing fiber optics. Environmental benefits will include recycling old concrete pavement on site to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during construction.
During a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, July 30, David S. Kim, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, reportedly said it is the biggest highway project to occur in Sacramento since the original I-5 project was completed in 1975. “Peak commute times for those in carpool lanes should be reduced by 13 minutes,” Kim said, according to the news agency. “Drivers in other lanes will shave about 7 minutes off of their commute. The partnership will extend the life of I-5 above use for another 40 years. By the time this project is done, I-5 will be the envy of other states.”
The project is expected to be finished by December 2022.
