Sign in Subscribe
Infrastructure

Placer Parkway’s first phase set to break ground in 2026.

Vitaliy Moskalenko

Vitaliy Moskalenko

— 3 min read
Placer Parkway’s first phase set to break ground in 2026.
Aerial view of the Whitney Ranch Parkway overcrossing in Rocklin — the starting point for Phase 1 of the long-awaited Placer Parkway project, which will eventually extend west toward Sutter County.

Placer County supervisors have officially cleared the way for construction to begin on Phase I of the Placer Parkway, a long-planned regional expressway that will connect State Route 65 in Rocklin to Highways 70/99 in Sutter County.

The Board of Supervisors approved three key actions during its October 7 meeting — including final project plans, a cooperative agreement with the Placer County Water Agency, and an updated utility relocation deal with PG&E — marking the most tangible progress the corridor has seen since it was first envisioned more than two decades ago.

Placer Parkway has been on regional transportation maps since the early 2000s, conceived as a 15-mile limited-access expressway designed to ease congestion on SR-65 and Interstate 80 while linking Placer County’s fast-growing communities with Sacramento International Airport and the I-5 corridor.

Map showing the full Placer Parkway corridor. Courtesy of Placer County.

Phase I will stretch from the Whitney Ranch Parkway interchange on SR-65 to North Foothills Boulevard, creating the first operational section of the new expressway. The project will upgrade the existing interchange with new loop on- and off-ramps and a six-lane bridge over SR-65, then extend a four-lane roadway west to North Foothills Boulevard. It will also include a grade-separated overcrossing of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks to eliminate traffic conflicts and improve safety.

Engineering layout of the planned Placer Parkway Phase 1 and Whitney Ranch Parkway interchange. Courtesy of Mark Thomas and Company, Inc.

Public Works engineer Jeff Apps told supervisors that design, right-of-way acquisition, and environmental clearances are complete, allowing the county to begin advertising for bids later this year. Construction is expected to start by spring or summer 2026 and will take several years to complete.

To support future growth in western Placer, the board also approved a cooperative reimbursement agreement with the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) to install a new waterline alongside the parkway. The waterline, estimated to cost about $14 million, will be funded and reimbursed by PCWA once bids are awarded.

A second action authorized an amendment to the PG&E utility relocation agreement, raising the cost ceiling to approximately $3.3 million due to higher material costs and additional relocation work around the Rio Bravo Power Plant. The changes will ensure power lines are moved underground and out of the future right-of-way.

The total cost for Phase I of Placer Parkway is estimated at about $160 million. Roughly $106 million will go toward construction, with the rest covering design, engineering, right-of-way acquisition, and environmental work. Funding will come from a mix of South Placer Regional Transportation Authority Tier 2 development fees, contributions from the United Auburn Indian Community, and Placer County Water Agency infrastructure funds.

Rendering of the planned Placer Parkway interchange at Whitney Ranch Parkway in Rocklin, showing how the first phase will connect State Route 65 to future extensions west toward Lincoln and Sutter County. Courtesy of Placer County.

With the board’s approval, the county can now advertise for construction bids and finalize the reimbursement and utility agreements. Once a contractor is selected, crews will begin site preparation and early grading along the SR-65 corridor — the first visible step in what planners hope will eventually become a continuous east-west expressway linking Rocklin, Lincoln, and South Sutter County.

Drone footage of SR 65/Whitney Ranch Parkway.

Read more