Construction work is slated to begin this spring on the first phase of a three-phase project that calls for widening Auburn Folsom Road south of Douglas Boulevard.
The Placer County Board of Supervisors gave its support to the project March 11, voting unanimously to award a contract of almost $4.7 million to Teichert Construction for the first-phase work.
The Public Works Department reported Teichert will begin work this spring and will need two construction seasons to complete the first phase. The county is funding the first-phase work with traffic mitigation fees paid by developers.
During the initial phase, Auburn Folsom will be widened from two to four lanes between the Placer-Sacramento county line and a point 1,500 feet north of Oak Hill Drive.
As part of that phase, the county will:
- Upgrade traffic signals at Oak Hill,
- Provide a landscaped median from the county line to Oak Hill,
- Install bicycle lanes,
- Build a wall on the west side of Auburn Folsom Road from the county line to Oak Hill that will complement a wall constructed by the city of Folsom south of the county line, and
- Replace a water line that the San Juan Water District has in the project area.
The district will pay water line costs.
Teichert submitted the lowest among 11 bids received by the county for the first-phase work.
Teichert’s bid was well below the engineer’s initial cost estimate of $7.8 million for the first phase.
“The good news is that we had previously identified funds for Phases I and II, using the engineer’s estimate as a benchmark for these funds,” explained 4th District Supervisor Kirk Uhler, the board member who represents Granite Bay. “However, we had yet to identify funding for Phase III- the link in between Phases I and II. So, coming in this far under estimate hopefully leaves a little bit of money on the table to move forward on Phase III.”
During the second phase of the project, Auburn Folsom will be widened from two to four lanes from a point 1,500 feet south of Eureka Road to Douglas Boulevard. The third phase will provide the final four-lane link between the first two phases.
Placer County is widening Auburn Folsom Road to help handle the increasing volume of traffic that moves between Granite Bay, Roseville and the Folsom area.