Sacramento advances $500 million I-5 toll lane project

The Sacramento Transportation Authority has approved a series of agreements and funding actions to advance a proposed $450 million to $500 million managed-lane project on Interstate 5 toward environmental clearance, tolling authorization, and construction funding.

The project would add one new high-occupancy toll lane in each direction between the I-5/US 50 interchange and the Sacramento River Bridge at the Yolo County line. The route would pass through downtown Sacramento, cross the American River, and continue through the I-80 interchange toward Sacramento International Airport.

Existing general-purpose lanes would remain free. Buses and vehicles carrying at least three people would be allowed to use the new lanes without paying, while vehicles with one or two occupants could pay a toll for access.

“The existing lanes remain free,” STA Executive Director Kevin Bewsey told the board on June 18. “There’s no cost to those.”

The board approved the package with Vice Chair Patrick Hume and Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple abstaining. No members of the public spoke on the proposal during the meeting.

Caltrans is leading the environmental review and would oversee construction. Agency staff anticipates releasing a draft environmental document in fall of 2026, identifying the addition of one toll lane in each direction as the preferred alternative.

Environmental clearance and tolling authorization could be completed around spring 2027, Bewsey said. If the project is successful in upcoming grant competitions, awards could follow in summer 2027.

Because of the project’s size and limited available funding, construction is expected to occur in phases. The first phase would likely add a southbound managed lane.

The project is the remaining piece of a regional bus and carpool lane network included in the county’s voter-approved Measure A transportation program. Measure A has previously helped fund carpool lanes on I-80, I-5 between Elk Grove and downtown Sacramento, and Highway 50 between downtown and Sunrise Boulevard.

“There are four projects in our expenditure plan,” Bewsey said. “Three of those are constructed. This will be the last one.”

The board’s action authorizes an agreement providing the Capital Area Regional Tolling Authority with up to $880,000 for traffic and revenue studies, technical review, and an application to the California Transportation Commission for authority to operate toll lanes on the corridor.

It also approves a separate contract of up to $400,000 with Drago Vantage LLC to coordinate the project and prepare state and federal grant applications through 2028. The authority plans to pursue funding through programs including California’s SB 1 Trade Corridor Enhancement Program and the federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America program.

The June vote does not establish toll rates or authorize toll collection. Those decisions would require future action by the regional tolling authority’s board.

Sacramento City Councilmember Karina Talamantes, who serves as a nonvoting member of the tolling authority, cautioned that the agencies will need to clearly explain how the lanes operate. She said comments posted online about the project included a recurring question: “We pay for these roads, so why do we have to pay again to use them?”

Talamantes said she recently found toll-lane signs and prices on Interstate 80 near Fairfield “super confusing.”

“As we navigate this, it’s front and center of what the average driver will feel like when they step onto the freeway,” she said.

Bewsey said toll revenue would first cover operation and maintenance of the lanes. Any remaining revenue would be required to stay within the I-5 corridor and could support transit service, interchange improvements, or other transportation projects, although he said officials do not expect the lanes to produce a large surplus. A construction start date has not been established.