The comments have been carefully reviewed and considered and implemented where possible. For example, an additional intersection alternative at Bradley Ranch Road is being developed for consideration based on comments that were received from the community. The community will be noticed when the study will be presented to the City Council, and public comment is always welcome.

With the exception of the next phase of the Wilton Road and Grant Line Road intersection, this project is not currently funded. The City will work closely with the JPA to identify funding available for the Connector project most likely through a combination of grants and local roadway dollars. The City was recently awarded a $500,000 Sacramento Area Council of Governments grant to complete the environmental document for changes to the intersection of Grant Line Road and Wilton Road. The City will use local transportation funds (either measure A sales tax or gas tax funds) to fund the remaining balance of that effort.

Currently the only part of this project has any funding is the intersection of Grant Line Road and Wilton Road. Hence, the schedule for the completion of the overall project is unknown. We intend to bring Precise Roadway Plan study to the City Council to provide comment in the Summer of 2022. The City will then proceed with developing the environmental document for the portion from Pleasant Grove School Road to Aleilani Road.

The JPA 2012 Programmatic EIR established Grant Line Road as the corridor for a portion of the 34 mile long Southeast Connector that runs from I-5 to US 50 in El Dorado County. The project is under construction in other areas and it is no longer an option to consider the "No-Build" alternative for Segment C. The City and community have an opportunity to determine which alternative is selected that will best fit with the Sheldon Community and retain as much rural context as possible.

The Capital SouthEast Connector is being designed to accommodate Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA) trucks. The 1982 STAA allows large trucks to operate on the Interstate and certain primary routes called collectively the National Network. These trucks, referred to as STAA trucks, are the largest trucks allowed on California Highways and Roadways without a special permit. Additionally, Roundabouts are being designed to accommodate truck turning movements associated with STAA trucks, horse trailers and large agricultural vehicles.

The existing poles will be relocated as necessary to accommodate the roadway widening. Given cost constraints, the City does not anticipate undergrounding of utilities as part of this project. In addition, there is no plan to bring water and sewer services to the Sheldon area. The project will address stormwater runoff with drainage ditches, underground drainage facilities and detention basins where needed.

The Capital SouthEast Connector JPA Project Design Guidelines dated February 13, 2015 for Segment C from Bond Road to Calvine Road has a designated design speed of 50 mph with an anticipated posted speed limit of 40 miles per hour (mph) for Alternative 1A, Signals. If appropriate, the City of Elk Grove intends to maintain the posted speed limit of 35 mph in the Sheldon Commercial Zone for any alternative. Alternative 2A has set the roundabout approach geometry for a target speed of between 20 and 25 mph for all approaches, with an operating speed of approximately 35 mph between roundabouts.

The construction costs are relatively similar as the signal equipment costs offset the larger roadway construction footprint associated with a roundabout. The right of way costs will be slightly higher for the roundabouts due to the larger footprint. However, the roundabout alternative does reduce impacts in the Sheldon commercial core since the signals require additional widening for left and right turn pockets that the roundabouts do not. The long-term operations and maintenance costs are significantly lower for roundabouts when compared to signalized intersections. This is primarily due to energy costs and traffic signal maintenance.

The 2012 JPA Programmatic EIR did not anticipate an intermediate intersection from Sheldon Road to Calvine Road. The need for the additional intersection was not generated by traffic demand from the side streets but rather to minimize the out of direction travel for this this 1.6-mile segment of roadway. The City decided to focus on Graybill Road because this intersection had the least impact to private property with homes.

As a result of community comments at the August 31, 2021 meeting, the City has decided to add an alternative intersection alternative at Bradley Ranch Road since there is more of a need to accommodate larger vehicles at this intersection than there is at Graybill. Once the plans are developed they will be posted on the website and a focused community meeting and survey would be used to determine the community’s preference between the Graybill Road and Bradley Ranch Road intersection for the City Council’s input.

The Team did look at connecting Mooney Road into Sheldon Road. It would require a realignment of Mooney Road through developed residential parcels. The impact to those parcels was deemed beyond the benefit of such a realignment. The residences along Mooney Road will be able to make a U-turn at Sheldon Road in order to head south on Grant Line Road

The following exhibits reflect the Current (2018) Traffic Volumes, and the Forecast (2050) Traffic Volumes:

Current Traffic Volumes

This exhibit shows the current (as counted in 2018) traffic volumes at each of the 6 subject intersections along Grant Line Road. Each of the intersections has the breakdown of the turning movements. The volumes shown are peak hour volumes with the first number being the morning peak hour and the second number in parenthesis being the evening peak hour. The current volumes can be accommodated within the 2-lane corridor, however some of the intersections are experiencing long delays even today.

Future (Forecast to 2050) Traffic Volumes

This exhibit shows the anticipated traffic volumes (in 2050) at the 6 intersections along Grant Line Road. These forecasts represent the anticipated traffic volumes based upon build out of the General Plan along the corridor. The direction arrows in the exhibit do not reflect the number of lanes that are needed in the design. In general terms, the through lanes can accommodate between 1200 to 1300 vehicles per lane per hour. Thus, the through traffic demand can be accommodated with 2 lanes in each direction. The limiting factor in the operations of such a corridor is the intersections. Much more analysis is needed to size the intersections accounting for the needed turn lanes and queue lengths fort each movement. That analysis has been incorporated into the alternatives being considered.

A Traffic Study has been completed evaluating the alternatives against the Year 2050 traffic forecasts as summarized below. Two measures of comparison between Alternative 1A (Signals) and Alternative 2A (Roundabouts) can be made from this table:

1. Delay- Average delay for all vehicles traversing each intersection.
2. Percent (%) of Performance Target- this metric is a bit more difficult to do a direct comparison because the City has established a different Performance Target for Signals and Roundabouts. However, you can see that both alternatives perform better than the target in all cases except at Calvine Road. The slight deficiency at Calvine Road is viewed to be in the acceptable range for this performance metric.

*Elk Grove’s General Plan establishes performance targets for intersection delay that would meet acceptable traffic operations. Delay is stated as an average time that each motorist would experience getting through the intersection during peak traffic periods. The performance targets are used to evaluate the effectiveness of design alternatives. It is important to note that the City has set different acceptable delay thresholds for Signals versus Roundabouts. See Elk Grove Transportation Analysis Guidelines dated February 2019 for more details.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, roundabouts have significant safety benefits when compared to other types of intersections like traffic signals and stop controls. The roundabout geometry virtually eliminates opportunities for "head-on" and "T-bone" collisions resulting in:

• More than 90% reduction in fatalities 
• 76% reduction in injuries 
• 35% reduction in all crashes 
• Slower speeds are generally safer for pedestrians 

Speed control is also a benefit associated with roundabouts, which also enhances pedestrian safety. The proposed roundabouts for this project have been designed with operating speeds of between 20 and 25 mph resulting in an overall reduction in operating speeds from Bond Road to Calvine Road if one of the Roundabout Alternatives is selected. 

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Over the past 5-years there has been an average of 3 reported traffic collisions at this intersection.

In corridors that have all traffic signals, the signal operations can be set so that a uniform progression (or platoon) of traffic can proceed at a set speed to safely and efficiently traverse the corridor. Introducing a roundabout into a corridor with traffic signals will disrupt the uniformity of the platoon of traffic causing long queuing at the next signalized intersection. 

Conversely, with a corridor that has all roundabouts, introducing a traffic signal disrupts the operations of roundabouts that typically produces uniform spacing of traffic up and downstream from the Intersection. Traffic signals may have a queue of traffic waiting for a red light that could "spill back" to the adjacent roundabout disrupting its’ operation. Additionally, the operational speed of roundabout corridors and signal corridors are quite different. Thus intermixing them will cause additional safety and operational challenges. 

In general, the operations, safety and speeds are preferable to have all traffic signals or all roundabouts in the corridor.

The City extended the traffic forecasts to 2050 to have an understanding of the size of intersections that would be needed to allow traffic to operate acceptably in the ultimate condition.

Growth in the community is independent of the roadway width. The City and County General Plans have established the zoning for this community and these plans determine how the community will grow. These land uses are inputted into the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) traffic model and form the basis of the traffic volume forecasts that have been generated. Thus, the roadway design included in this study should handle the anticipated traffic demand well into the future. In addition, the City extended the traffic forecasts to 2050 from 2038 that was used on the EIR to have a better understanding of the potential growth in traffic volumes to appropriately size the intersections through Sheldon.

The proposed plans include a multi-use trail along the west side of Grant Line Road that will be part of a 34-mile continuous trail once the SouthEast Connector is completed. In this segment, the proposed plans also include a pedestrian walkway from Ace Hardware to the Wrangler Bar along the east side of Grant Line Road serving the commercial core of the Sheldon Community. People will be able to access the trail at every intersection along Grant Line Road. The trail will not preclude access to adjacent business. Pedestrians wanting to cross Grant Line Road will be able to safely do so at any of the improved (signalized or roundabout intersections). In addition, it is expected that updates to the City’s Bicycle, Pedestrian and Trails Master Plan will incorporate trail extensions from the urbanized portion of the City to connect with the Capital SouthEast Connector Trail. There may also be opportunities to develop trailhead access parking along the corridor.

The project does not anticipate the need for signalized pedestrian crossings at roundabouts but they could be added in the future if they are needed.

The Capital SouthEast Connector standards have established a divided roadway for the entire 34-mile corridor to provide safe and efficient traffic movements. Left and U-turns in the corridor will only occur at controlled locations (signalized intersections or roundabouts). As such, property owners will need to turn right onto Grant Line Road and travel a slight distance out of direction to the next signal or roundabout to make a u-turn to travel in the opposite direction. Roundabouts will provide easier U-turns for larger vehicles and trailers due to the larger radius provided. This is the best way to operate this four-lane divided roadway in a safe and efficient manner.

Access to Pleasant Grove School Road would become right in/ right out only under all alternatives. Under Alternatives 1A and 2A, vehicles would make U-turns at Bond Road and Wilton Road as needed for access. Under Alternative 2C, vehicles would make U-turns at New Wilton Road and Aleilani Lane.

Driveways and side streets will all be right in / right out only except for the intersections with either signals or roundabouts that would have full access.

Landscaping is planned for the corridor, specifically adjacent to the multi-use path and the median. Opportunities to receive community input would occur during final design development prior to construction.

The current study will not result in a construction project. As improvements are designed, detailed construction traffic management plans will be developed. Additional public outreach will be conducted while developing these plans to receive community input on those details During construction, the City will maintain access to local businesses to minimize impacts.