Placer County approves $61.6 million contract to begin Placer Parkway construction

More than two decades after planners first mapped out a new expressway for south Placer County, the project is finally set to break ground.

The Placer County Board of Supervisors unanimously awarded a $61.6 million construction contract on Tuesday, formally launching the first phase of the Placer Parkway. The bid went to Roseville-based A. Teichert & Son Inc., with construction scheduled to begin this summer.

The project is planned to become a 15-mile, high-speed expressway linking Highway 65 and Highway 99, giving western Placer another east-west route as traffic worsens on I-80 and S.R. 65, and growth continues to push outward.

The first phase includes a 1.5-mile segment that will bridge the gap between the Whitney Ranch Parkway interchange and N. Foothills Boulevard. During Tuesday's meeting, Supervisor Bonnie Gore noted that the sheer technical difficulty of this relatively short stretch came as a surprise, pointing out that she had previously had little idea why the initial phase carried such a heavy price tag.

Because the surrounding terrain is entirely flat, crews must import 400,000 cubic yards of soil to raise the new four-lane roadway 30 feet above ground. That elevation is required to construct a 300-foot-long bridge carrying traffic safely over Industrial Avenue and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. The project also includes widening the existing Whitney Ranch Parkway overcrossing to six lanes and adding new ramps to create full freeway access.

Tucked beneath the pavement is another major infrastructure upgrade. The Placer County Water Agency is utilizing the project to run a 42-inch steel waterline across the highway network, establishing a vital utility link for future development in western Placer County. Because the massive pipe cannot fit intact through the newly designed bridge structures, engineers will split the flow into three 24-inch lines at each crossing before merging them back together on the other side.

While the total estimated cost for the first phase sits at $90 million, local taxpayers are actually getting a steep discount on the physical construction, according to county officials. Prior to the bidding process, county engineers used standard state transportation metrics to estimate that the build would cost $106 million. But a regional drought of major infrastructure projects left heavy construction firms eager for the work.

"These contractors were really hungry, and we got really good prices," Engineering Manager Kevin Ordway told the board.

Teichert ultimately secured the job with a base bid of roughly $59.6 million, and the county tacked on a $2 million contingency fund to cover inevitable design tweaks and material changes.

Getting the bulldozers moving now required orchestrating a complicated financial web. Placer Parkway is designed to be paid for entirely by development fees, specifically Sparta Tier 2 fees levied on new residential and commercial growth. Because the current balance in that account sits at just under $9.6 million, the county is fronting $30.7 million from its general fund reserves. Those funds will eventually be repaid as developers continue to build out the region. The United Auburn Indian Community is also a major backer, contributing $9 million in non-reimbursable funds and another $21.7 million in fair-share and reimbursable cash, while the water agency is covering $7.7 million for its pipeline infrastructure.

To oversee the two-year build, the board also approved a $9.8 million contract with Psomas to handle construction management and materials testing.

For the public works staff who have guided the parkway through decades of environmental reviews and design hurdles, Tuesday’s vote was a career-defining moment. Deputy Director of Public Works Rich Moorehead, who began working on the parkway in 2000, noted that during the project's early planning stages, residents were still bracing for the Y2K computer bug, and large swaths of Roseville remained undeveloped. After watching the presentation, Supervisor Suzanne Jones offered a lighthearted but firm directive to the engineering team: none of them is allowed to retire until the road is finished.

Drone footage of SR 65/Whitney Ranch Parkway.