Folsom will resurface and repair a heavily traveled stretch of East Bidwell Street after securing nearly $6.9 million in federal funding from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG).
The grant covers pavement rehabilitation on East Bidwell from Scholar Way/Clarksville Road to just north of Alder Creek Parkway, according to a city announcement posted Monday, Oct. 19. The city expects to seek construction bids in late 2027, with work to follow in 2028.
The money comes from SACOG's competitive 2026 System Preservation Program, which funded 24 projects across six Sacramento-area counties. The program distributed $46.2 million in federal dollars for road repairs, the Sacramento Bee reported. Folsom's $6.89 million award came from a Sacramento County allocation of $22.9 million spread across eight projects.
The project will resurface pavement and fix underlying roadway damage along a corridor city officials describe as one of Folsom's most critical arterial routes, connecting neighborhoods to commercial centers, schools and medical facilities. Public Works Director and City Engineer Rebecca Neves said in a staff report prepared for the council's Jan. 27 meeting that operational improvements along East Bidwell are needed to address congestion, improve safety and maintain acceptable service levels as development continues.
The pavement grant builds on a $1.12 million design and engineering contract the Folsom City Council approved in January, as Folsom Times reported. That contract launched detailed engineering for the broader East Bidwell Street Operational Improvements Project, which also includes turn-lane extensions, intersection upgrades at Iron Point Road and enhanced bicycle and pedestrian connections to the U.S. 50 undercrossing and the East Bidwell Rail Trail.
City staff said combining pavement rehabilitation with intersection and signal improvements reduces disruption by minimizing repeated lane closures.
The SACOG board voted 18-10 in September to increase the preservation program's share of federal block-grant dollars from 35% to 45%, shifting more than $9 million from other transportation programs. SACOG Executive Director James Corless told the Bee the board acted because demand for road repair funding is widespread across the region.
Vice Mayor Anna Rohrbough, who represents District 5, highlighted the corridor's challenges in an Oct. 1 Folsom Times interview. "I don't have a simple solution of how we're going to reduce congestion in the next six months except watching what we build and how we build it out and what we add and approve along the East Bidwell corridor," Rohrbough said.
The road preservation grants will be officially awarded in February 2027.
