Leaders herald ‘incredibly important’ new road segment connecting Highway 99, north Merced
Local leaders are celebrating the completion of the latest component of a regional plan to improve traffic circulation in the Merced area.
A ribbon-cutting was held Friday morning for Segment III of the Campus Parkway Project, which is geared toward connecting Highway 99 with growing neighborhoods and retail centers near north Merced and UC Merced.
It’s also an important part of Merced County’s Regional Plan to improve traffic circulation in that urban area of the region.
Segment III extends the four-lane expressway from its current end near Highway 140 all the way to Yosemite Avenue, which includes two roundabouts at Olive Avenue and Yosemite Avenue.
Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, said the project will help commuters, businesses and others who regularly travel the local roadway system.
“One, we’re connecting major thoroughfares, which is going to improve goods movement, obviously improve commute times and opportunity for folks, but it also creates both (agriculture) preservation, which you can see to the east, and also development opportunities — commercial development opportunities, housing development opportunities.”
Will help connect UC Merced, hospital
The overall Campus Parkway Corridor project consists of a four-lane divided roadway extending 4.5 miles from the Mission Avenue exit off Highway 99 to Yosemite Avenue. The cost of the project is approximately $100 million, secured through the Senate Bill 1 Transportation Package to fund both Segment II and III of Campus Parkway.
Segment I of the project, which consists of Mission Avenue to East Childs Avenue was completed in 2009. Segment II from East Childs Avenue to just past Highway 140 was completed in 2020.
Construction on the fourth segment of the project, which will extend Campus Parkway further north and connect it to Bellevue Road, is currently under way.
“It’s an incredibly important asset,” said UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz.
“It’ll create a new route to the campus that will bring not just commercial development, but visitors to the campus, students to the campus, people interested in supporting the campus. Most universities have something like this and now we do and it’s a very exciting time.”
Campus Parkway is part of the larger “Merced Loop System” that circles the City of Merced and connects surrounding communities. The Merced Loop System is designed to reduce congestion, improve connection to existing highways and stimulate economic development opportunities.
Campus Parkway also better connects Mercy Medical Center with patients throughout Merced and Merced County.
“When everybody works together, when both parties work together, when local government and state and federal government work together you can see stuff like this happen,” Gray said. “We got the funding for this in 2017, got the project done here in 2022 and it’s going to make a meaningful difference for the community.”
This story was originally published July 8, 2022 at 1:57 PM.
