Sometimes bringing the challenges and opportunities together is just a matter of using some imagination. On the Watt Avenue Improvement Project I led for the Sacramento County Department of Transportation, bike paths presented a challenge. Instead of trying to constrain the paths to fit the design, we thought about what the paths could be. Because of that extra effort and imagination, the paths became one of the most prominent and best features of the redesigned bridge.

The Connector presents a unique set of challenges and an exciting set of opportunities. It’s no easy task to bring together five jurisdictions, each with their own vision of the project, and come to a consensus on what’s best for everyone. We may find that there is no solution that meets the specific needs of each of those entities, which means we need to look at the greater good of the community.

The opportunity that comes with this challenge is that we can show how we as a region can join together and make the project, which is a concept at this point, a reality. I am occasionally teased for saying this, but I firmly believe the Connector is more than a transportation project – it can change the face of Sacramento and change the way people view Sacramento. We can make the Connector a signature project for our region. It won’t be as iconic as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis or the Golden Gate Bridge, but we may be able to say we did something that hadn’t been done before: we built a roadway project that is broadly recognized as a milestone, a real asset to mobility of the area, and a demonstration of our regional community’s ability to come together and serve a common purpose.

More to come in future entries.