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Over 50 owners and managers of businesses in the Grant Line
Road/Hwy. 99 area attended the Chamber’s Industrial Roundtable
forum today, asking representatives of the City of Elk Grove
about when and how the construction will impact their particular
business operations, identifying issues of concern about the
project and discussing specific impacts on their particular
situation.
When completed, the much needed and long-awaited road widening
and interchange improvement project should alleviate congestion
through the area, as well as on and off Highway 99. In opening
remarks, facilitator Ken Allred, Chair of the Chamber’s Economic
Growth Department noted, “The purpose of this forum is to bring
the project managers and the businesses together to make sure
the disruption to business is minimized to the greatest extent
possible.”
High on the list of those present was the need for early and
accurate information on the construction schedule, especially
when construction would directly impact their operations. For
many of the businesses in the industrial area, shipments to and
from operations occur around the clock, and are planned weeks in
advance.
City Public Works Department representatives outlined the
projects, the tentative time tables and the phasing of the
projects, and the steps they are taking to address the concerns
of the businesses. “It will be great to get these
improvements done, but businesses in the area will have to live
through some tough times before it’s over,” stated Janet
Toppenberg, President/CEO of the Chamber. “We were pleased to
hear from the City representatives about the plans to have an
on-site project manager, 24 hour contacts, and that access
should never be totally cut off for any business.”
According to Burt Brown, Sr. Engineer for the City of Elk Grove,
the City will require the contractors to provide at least 7 days
notice when the construction will be directly in or adjacent to
a business. The Grant Line project should get underway this
spring, with a completion target of fall 2007. The Interchange
Project will begin this fall and be completed in December 2007
or January 2008. Project plans and maps can be viewed on the
city’s planning department
website at http://www.egplanning.org/projects/grantline/
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