Route Approved for Expressway Through Sheldon

A regional board Wednesday approved a route for a controversial beltway that would pass through Elk Grove's Sheldon neighborhood.

The 34-mile road—six lanes wide in some areas, four in others—would link Elk Grove with Rancho Cordova and El Dorado County, providing an alternative to congested highways. An article in Wednesday's Sacramento Bee outlines details of the plan.

The Capital SouthEast Connector Joint Powers Authority, which is made up of elected officials from the affected areas, hopes to have some sections of the road up and running by 2020. (The attached map shows the route.)

Now that the JPA has chosen a general alignment for the connector road, local governments along the route including the City of Elk Grove will consider whether to approve the project and include it in their general plans. A JPA representative said a presentation in Elk Grove was tentatively scheduled for April.

Some Sheldon residents have worried the project would destroy the area's rural character.

But the president of the Sheldon Community Association told the Bee his group had reached a compromise that would lessen the impact.

"In my view, we managed to save Sheldon from being destroyed," Bill Myers said.