$200,000 construction management contract moves median barrier and roadway improvements toward construction on one of Folsom’s most dangerous corridors.
Folsom City Council unanimously approved funding Tuesday night to move forward the next phase of long-awaited safety improvements on Folsom Lake Crossing, authorizing a $200,422.55 construction management contract that advances a project aimed at reducing head-on collisions and improving safety on one of the city’s highest-risk roadways.
The council approved an agreement with UNICO Engineering Inc. to provide construction management services for the Folsom Lake Crossing Safety Improvements Phase 2 Project. According to city documents, the contract is a critical step toward construction and will provide the specialized inspection, documentation and federal compliance oversight required for the federally funded project.
The approval represents another milestone in the city’s multi-year effort to improve safety along the heavily traveled corridor between Folsom Dam Road and Folsom-Auburn Road, a stretch that has been the site of numerous devastating crashes over the past decade.
According to previous City of Folsom documents, at least six people have been killed in head-on crashes on Folsom Lake Crossing since 2016, including two separate triple-fatal collisions. The most recent fatal head-on crash occurred in February 2022, reinforcing the urgency of safety improvements that were already in the planning stages.
The corridor has also been identified by the City of Folsom’s Local Road Safety Plan as one of the most hazardous roadways in the city. The segment between Gun Range Road and Folsom Dam Road ranked as Folsom’s highest-risk roadway segment based on Equivalent Property Damage Only (EPDO) scoring, the engineering standard used to prioritize roadway safety projects by placing greater weight on fatal and serious injury crashes. An adjacent section extending toward Folsom-Auburn Road also ranked among the city’s highest-risk roadway corridors.
Approximately 30,000 vehicles travel Folsom Lake Crossing each day, making it one of the city’s busiest transportation corridors connecting Folsom with communities to the north and east.
According to Tuesday’s staff report, the construction management contract does not authorize construction itself but provides the oversight required before and during the project. Because the work is federally funded through Caltrans Local Assistance, the city must comply with extensive federal documentation, inspection, materials testing and reimbursement requirements.
UNICO Engineering will oversee all phases of the project, including pre-construction planning, quality assurance, field inspection, daily reporting, contract administration, certified payroll tracking, utility coordination, materials testing, traffic control inspections and final project closeout documentation required to maintain eligibility for federal reimbursement.
The upcoming construction project will include crack sealing and slurry sealing of the roadway surface, replacement of pavement striping and markings, and installation of approximately 3,890 feet of Double Thrie Beam Barrier Rail extending from the Folsom Dam Road intersection to the eastern edge of the Folsom Lake Crossing bridge deck. The improvements will also preserve and rehabilitate pavement between Folsom Dam Road and Folsom-Auburn Road.
The city first sought federal assistance for the project in February 2023, requesting $1.5 million through the Fiscal Year 2024 Congressionally Directed Spending process to design and construct a safety median barrier along Folsom Lake Crossing. In May 2024, the Federal Highway Administration awarded the city $1.04 million for roadway safety improvements that may include a median barrier, pavement resurfacing, updated roadway delineation and segment lighting.
Since then, the City Council has approved multiple agreements necessary to advance the project, including reimbursement agreements with Caltrans, engineering design and environmental services, and final design work. According to city documents, the project has completed environmental clearance, right-of-way verification and final design, allowing it to advance into construction.
The project carries a total Fiscal Year 2026-27 Capital Improvement Program budget of approximately $1.17 million, while total federal funding approved across all project phases totals $1,414,412. During the design process, the project scope was expanded to include additional pavement rehabilitation beyond the original grant request to improve long-term roadway conditions between Folsom Dam Road and Folsom-Auburn Road.
City staff reported that five firms submitted proposals for the construction management contract. Following a competitive qualifications-based selection process conducted under Caltrans Local Assistance procedures, UNICO Engineering was determined to be the top-ranked and most qualified firm to oversee the project.
According to the project schedule, construction bids are expected to be advertised in August and opened in September, with the construction contract tentatively scheduled for City Council consideration on Oct. 13. Following public outreach and preconstruction activities, field work is anticipated to begin in December and continue through February 2027, with final project closeout expected in March 2027, weather permitting.
When completed, the Phase 2 improvements will extend safety enhancements beyond the bridge itself, continuing the city’s effort to reduce the likelihood and severity of cross-median and head-on collisions on a roadway that has claimed multiple lives and caused numerous serious injuries over the past decade.
Copyright © 2026, Folsom Times, a digital product of All Town Media LLC. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
