Sonora Council Enthusiastic About North-South Connector Project Potential
Sonora, CA — With a 5-0 vote, the Sonora City Council approved a $35,000 contract with the Dewberry Engineers to represent the city’s interests as plans are developed for a potential north-south connector project.
Mayor Ann Segerstrom noted at this week’s meeting that the concept first gained momentum in 1974, and various iterations have been developed since then to create some type of bypass route to alleviate traffic congestion in the downtown district. It could also be an emergency evacuation route. Past iterations primarily looked at areas around Greenley Road. Community and private landowner opposition thwarted past efforts.
Councilmember Mark Plummer has been a strong proponent of the concept and stated, “We are once again very close to seeing it perhaps completed. We are at least further along in the process of design and coordination with different state entities, and outreach to the public, so that we will hopefully avoid some of the repulsion that we had last time.”
The proposed project is being overseen by the Tuolumne County Transportation Council, which includes representatives from the city of Sonora and Tuolumne County government. The city’s representatives are Plummer and Vice Mayor Andy Merrill.
Merrill also voiced heavy support for the project and stressed that no specific route has been finalized, and the first step is to do outreach with property owners and invested partners. He stressed a commitment to get the project over the goal line. Preferred alternatives should be released in mid-2026.
The vote was 5-0 to hire Dewberry to represent the city.
The north-south connector project was one of the topics that TCTC Executive Director Tamera Blankenship spoke about on a recent Mother Lode Views radio show, which can be found here.
