New Cross-Town Extension Opens In South Sacramento

It's been 50 years since a Cosumnes River Boulevard extension was first planned. Tuesday the extension and interchange for Interstate 5 opened. 
 
The new I-5 interchange and extension cost $95 million. They are between Meadowview Road and Laguna Boulevard.

Allen Barron lives nearby and says the extension will increase access for people who live in the area.

"It means I don't have to go all the way to Franklin to go to the airport, because on this side, I can cut across. Plus, maybe it takes some congestion off of 99 and the little bottleneck on Bruceville.

I think it's a good project, especially if the light rail comes through."

Regional Transit plans to extend the Blue Line from Cosumnes River College to the site of the new Delta Shores development. The new project is bisected by the new boulevard extension.

Scott McPherson is a managing partner with Delta Shores developer Merlone Geier. He says crews will break ground on 900,000 square feet of retail space in the spring.

RC Willey, Dicks Sporting Goods and Walmart are among the national chains that have signed leases. Petsmart, Ross, Famous Footwear, Ulta, Hobby Lobby, Party City and Regal Cinemas are the others.

"Our goal is to have a mix of both regional and local," says McPherson. "We don't want all national tenants. We don't want it to be cookie cutter. So, we're going to mix in a lot of local tenants as well."

The Delta Shores plan includes two more retail areas totaling 400,000 square feet and 5,200 housing units.

McPherson says construction on the first homes might begin as soon as 2017.