The Placer County Transportation Planning Agency (PCTPA) and the City of Rocklin will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the State Route 65 (SR 65) Whitney Ranch Interchange Project on Monday, April 13 at 10 am at the end of Whitney Ranch Parkway near Wildcat Boulevard in Rocklin.
The new interchange will connect Whitney Ranch Parkway with Highway 65 just north of the Sunset Boulevard interchange and south of the Twelve Bridges Drive interchange. The Whitney Ranch interchange will provide access to the largest undeveloped piece of property in the City of Rocklin which is planned to include a mix of retail, office, and residential spaces.
“We are very excited about the start of construction of the Whitney Ranch interchange and the enhanced connections to the City of Rocklin,” said City of Rocklin Vice Mayor Greg Janda. “This opens up approximately 355 acres of developable land and has the potential to add over 7,000 jobs to the local economy.”
The project will construct northbound SR 65 on and off ramps, an overpass, and southbound SR 65 on and off ramps connecting to Whitney Ranch Parkway. The City of Rocklin is also constructing a new road, University Avenue, which will connect Whitney Ranch Parkway with Sunset Boulevard near William Jessup University.
The excitement about the Whitney Ranch interchange is not just for the major economic boost for Rocklin – it is also for the project’s role as the first step towards completion of a larger freeway connection planned for Placer County. “The Whitney Ranch Interchange is one piece of the Placer Parkway, a future project which will connect Highway 65 with Highways 99 and 70 at Sankey Road near the Sacramento International Airport,” said Celia McAdam, Executive Director of the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency. “With the current lack of state and federal funding for transportation infrastructure, the City of Rocklin and PCTPA collaborated to use the small amount of local funds we have to build one piece of the ultimate Placer Parkway project.” The $10 million project is funded through a public private initiative between the City of Rocklin, local developers and PCTPA.
