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Citrus Heights Messenger

Auburn Boulevard Phase 2 Moves Forward in 2023

Jan 31, 2023 12:00AM ● By By Thomas J. Sullivan

A durable steel gateway arch over Auburn Boulevard, styled after an arch at Rusch Park will be located on Auburn Boulevard, near Whyte Avenue. The arch with stone pillars on the sides, will feature a prominent "Welcome to Citrus Heights" message across it. Rendering courtesy of City of Citrus Heights

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Work on Phase 2 of the reconstruction of Auburn Boulevard by the City of Citrus Heights is moving forward as the city continues to purchase critical right-of-way property easements along the one-mile route, said Hunter Young, P.E., the city’s principal civil engineer.

“The city’s design team is preparing the final construction plans and specifications which will be used by the selected construction contractor,” Young said.

Phase I of the initial project accomplished a complete update of the Auburn Boulevard corridor from Sylvan Corners to Rusch Park in 2014.

Phase 2 of the project extends the city’s vision of a “safer, updated roadway with enhanced amenities for all users (pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists)” north to Orlando Avenue in Roseville, Young said.

“We anticipate breaking ground in very early 2024, which puts an estimated completion time in 2026,” Young said.

Where actual construction of Phase 2 of the Auburn Boulevard project will actually begin: either at Rusch Park, going north to the Roseville city line, or starting in Roseville and going south to Rusch Park in Citrus Heights, has yet to be decided, and may eventually be a decision reached by the selected contractor that is chosen, he explained.

A durable steel gateway arch over Auburn Boulevard, styled after an arch at Rusch Park will be located on Auburn Boulevard, near Whyte Avenue. The arch with stone pillars on the sides, will feature a prominent “Welcome to Citrus Heights” message across it.

The gateway monument arch is included in the roadway design and will be constructed as part of the same construction contract, Young said.

“We anticipate soliciting contractor bids in July 2023,” Young said.

Both phases of construction on Auburn Boulevard include undergrounding utilities.

“Interagency city and county cooperation to complete a complex one-mile construction project of this kind is substantial,” Young said. Project participants and partners include Caltrans (the Auburn/I-80 off-ramp is within the project limits) and the City of Roseville.

In 2022, the Citrus Heights city council approved the establishment of an Auburn Boulevard Underground Utility District. Impacted utility companies will be required to remove all overhead wires and utility poles within the district once all the new underground utilities become operational.

The City of Citrus Heights is working closely on utility coordination with Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), Comcast, Consolidated Communications (CCI), Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), and Citrus Heights Water District (CHWD) in the project which will include a hybrid approach of both night work and day work depending on the activity at hand.

A final count of the total right-of-way property acreage expected to be acquired for the project isn’t available yet.

“We’ve received good support from all the business owners along the route who understand the importance of this project,” said Young. “The amount of right of way property from each impacted parcel varies, but in many locations we (the city) have purchased about 8 to 9 feet on each side of the existing roadway.”

“In some locations, we have purchased very little at the corners of intersecting streets, only to allow for proper ADA facilities to be constructed,” Young said. Some driveways will be consolidated to increase safety for pedestrians and bicyclists along the route.

New landscaped medians will be built along the route. “Based on a traffic study prepared during the design phase, some side streets on Auburn Boulevard will have traffic pattern changes to adapt to,” Young explained. This change will include prohibition of left turns out of side streets in some cases.

“These ingress/egress changes to side streets will be major changes in how traffic flows through the Auburn Boulevard corridor and are for the benefit of all roadway users and pedestrians,” he said.

The selected contractor will be required to keep at least one driveway open to each property, Young said.  “We will also require the contractor to install signage reading “businesses open during construction.”

Funding for Phase 2 of the Auburn Boulevard project is 85 percent funded by a combination of non-general funds, including a grant from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG).

“We’re looking at obtaining additional funding from a variety of additional sources,” Young said.

“Caltrans is also a key partner in the delivery of federally funded projects such as this,” Young said. Additional partners include Sacramento Rapid Transit (RT) for all transit impacts and the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District as it relates to the relocation of fire hydrants.

The completed Auburn Boulevard Phase 2 corridor will be beautified with new decorative street lighting, landscaping and trees, the replacement of old storm drain infrastructure, and construction of new Sacramento Transit (Sac RT) stops for Americans with Disability Act (ADA) compliance, Young said. The number of Sacramento (Sac RT) transit bus stops will remain at seven.

“Sac RT will install future bus stop amenities as they see fit, including room for bus shelters when possible. Temporary bus stops will be put in place during construction of the new stops,” Young said.

A project drawing posted on the city’s web site at: www.citrusheights.net/256/Boulevard-Plan describes the project’s overall features.