No visible construction activity at Elk Grove's ACE commuter rail station
The new commuter service that will connect Elk Grove to San Jose to the south and Sacramento to the north will be part of the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE)
About a year ago, there was a flurry of reports about the new commuter rail station coming to Elk Grove. The new commuter service that will connect Elk Grove to San Jose to the south and Sacramento to the north will be part of the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE), which operates under the auspices of the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission.
Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen announced last February that the city had purchased a three-acre RV storage lot on Dwight Road on the city's west side. Last summer, minor parking lot repairs were performed, but a visit to the site earlier this week revealed that no other work had commenced.
The largest construction item of the project is the addition of a 10,000-foot rail siding along the existing Union Pacific rail track. That construction has not commenced, nor has the unstaffed station required a passenger loading platform.
Last February, San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission deputy director David Lipari told KCRA that construction on the station was scheduled to start early this year. A social media post from Elk Grove stated construction would be finished by 2026.
Aside from a Galt, California-based Westec Industries crew working near the site on January 28 (see video below), there was no construction activity. A review of the ACE and SJRRC reveals no updates on the project.
At last February's announcement on Elk Grove's Facebook page, comments were overwhelmingly supportive. A few expressed concern that the ease of access to Silicon Valley commuters would accelerate housing prices.
The most salient comment came from a retired person who noted, "Light rail was supposed to come to Elk Grove too what happened to that? Doesn't matter cause I've already retired, you can grow old waiting for the things that they were supposed to do many years ago."
