| A federal highway bill that cleared the House Transportation Committee last week contains $7 million for Folsom Boulevard improvements in Rancho Cordova.
The $284 billion spending plan has a long way to go before Rancho Cordova gets a check in the mail - the bill must be passed by the House and Senate, then signed into law by President Bush.
Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River, said there's a good chance the bill will be adopted by May 30 when the current law runs out.
Last year, a similar highway bill - also containing money for Folsom Boulevard improvements - failed when the House and Senate couldn't agree on a package that Bush would sign. Both houses negotiated on this year's bill, which is within the budget that Bush agreed to, Lungren said.
"We've got to make sure we've got a bill that everyone can agree on," Lungren said. "At least at this point in time, that appears to be the case."
City leaders are cautiously optimistic, saying that although the $7 million isn't a done deal, Wednesday's approval by the House committee is a significant milestone.
"For us, this is a direct fruit of cityhood," Councilman David Sander said. "We had never been organized enough before to make a cogent request at the appropriate time for the right amount of funding."
The $7 million would allow construction to begin on the long-awaited Folsom Boulevard beautification project, stretching from Rod Beaudry Drive to Sunrise Boulevard, and taking in Mather Field Road from Folsom Boulevard to the former Air Force base.
"A big focus of this project would be pedestrian and bicycle improvements with landscaping and overall renovation of the Folsom corridor," said Cyrus Abhar, the city's public works director. "This is really the first step in realizing that vision."
The $50 million plan aims to make Folsom Boulevard more welcoming to pedestrians and attract new development.
The plan calls for landscaped medians, new sidewalks, street lights and bicycle lanes. Overhead utilities would be placed underground, shelters would be added to bus stops, and the number of driveways to businesses would be reduced. Other features could include brick pathways, on-street parking, neighborhood welcome monuments and directional signs.
Funding from Measure A - the Sacramento County half-cent sales tax for transportation - was used to create the plan and start on the design.
If the $7 million comes through, the City Council will then decide where to begin construction of the project.
The council can elect to do certain improvements throughout the entire project or focus on renovation of a single area, Abhar said.
Sander said the council needs to work out a few details of the plan, such as landscaping and lighting, but overall, the city is ready to begin construction.
"Our real need is to convert old Highway 50 - Folsom Boulevard - into a more modern main street for Rancho Cordova," Sander said. "Before you get reuse of the real estate, you also have to make an investment in public infrastructure."
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