Patience is a virtue. Unfortunately, it’s not one that is possessed in excess among the general public. Especially the general public that’s running late to work when they notice the red and white striped rail-road arms coming down in front of them on the first stretch of their commute.  Hold out a little bit longer fellow commuters, help is on the way- this weekend.

The reigning busiest intersection in Sacramento County is finally getting the attention it deserves. Or does it? The intersection of Watt and Folsom has been a traffic nightmare for the last few weeks, and that’s only since the demolition/construction has been going on. The orange cones have been up for nearly a month, and the once relatively smooth pavement is scarred, rutted and is sporting new jagged, yellow lane lines.

The stop and go (mostly stop) traffic that’s been congesting the South Watt area will be completely eliminated as of Friday night. Nope, the construction won’t be complete until mid November, so don’t get too optimistic. The construction crews, headed up by Viking Construction out of Rancho Cordova will close Watt just South of Folsom, completely to build a 529 foot light rail bridge.

Eventually, this will mean a much quicker commute for those of you who find yourself pulling up to the intersection just in time to see the notorious red lights start their blinking.  The light rail will instead pass over vehicles on it’s made to order bridge.

The $23 million dollar project has been in the planning stages for quite some time. This project is the beginning of a much needed face lift for the area. South Watt is also adding a little girth to the sound of 2 extra lanes. Long term plans include updated traffic lights on Manlove and Watt and again on Jackson and Watt. There are also plans for placement of a new light at the intersection of Canberra and Watt.

While the wait is long (both figuratively and literally) the outcome should be worth it.