Smart Hornets will avoid Folsom Boulevard for the next couple of months.

Construction on the roadway between 65th Street and Hornet Drive is causing significant traffic delays and backups, with lane shifts, closures, and occasional one-way flagging. The congestion will only get worse when more than 30,000 Sac State students and faculty return to campus for the Fall semester.

Classes begin Monday, Aug. 27. The roadwork – affecting not only drivers, but pedestrians and cyclists as well – is expected to wrap up in October 2018.

“Folsom Boulevard is heavily impacted by the construction project, and we have seen backups all summer, even with light traffic conditions,” says Tony Lucas, senior director of University Transportation, Parking & Support Services (UTAPS.)

His recommendations for drivers traveling to campus on Highway 50:

  • Avoid taking the 65th Street exit, unless you plan enter campus from J Street.
  • A better choice is to take the Howe Avenue/Power Inn Road exit, which is a loop exit that leads to Hornet Drive. From there, drivers make their way to campus via College Town Drive.
  • The quickest way to reach Folsom Hall is to take the Howe Avenue/Power Inn Road exit, turn right onto Howe and right onto Folsom Boulevard.
  • Commuters who use surface streets should stay away from the stretch of Folsom Boulevard under construction.

The city of Sacramento has two major projects underway on Folsom Boulevard near Sac State.

City planners scheduled the bulk of the Folsom Boulevard Complete Streets Rehabilitation Project to take place during the students’ summer break, to cause the least amount of disruption to campus traffic. Construction started in late May.

Improvements include better pedestrian and bicycle mobility and better access to the Regional Transit station at 65th Street.

The second project will extend Ramona Avenue from Brighton Avenue to Folsom Boulevard. Improvements include a signalized intersection with Folsom Boulevard, a railroad crossing, new sidewalks and median, curbs and gutters, and room for bike lanes. Completion is expected in late December 2018.

“Ultimately, the planned improvements will enhance safety for all modes of transportation, especially for those commuting to and from Sacramento State,” says Maria C. “Marycon” Young, spokeswoman for the Office of the City Manager. “In the meantime, students returning to the Sacramento State campus are strongly encouraged to use alternate access points to the University.” – Dixie Reid