RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - A longtime advocate for improvements to Scott Road is praising Sacramento County Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez for allocating $2.9 million to repave a three-mile section of the rural route.

John Merchant, who has pushed for upgrades to the road for two decades, said Rodriguez’s action marks the first significant step after years of unmet promises. 

“Is it everything? No. Is it something? Hell, yes; it is something. It’s a big something,” he said.

Scott Road winds through rolling ranch land and is the primary route Rancho Murieta residents use to reach Folsom for shopping, services and work.

Matt Hedges, the chief of staff for Rodriguez, announced the funding decision on social media. 

“As many of you know, Scott Road is in rough shape,” he said. “While a full realignment is ultimately needed, we recognize that immediate repairs can’t wait.”

Each year, the county’s five supervisors submit a list of paving priorities to be funded under the Senate Bill 1 Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. Hedges said Rodriquez selected four projects, one of which is the significant investment in Scott Road.

“The most expensive of the four, this project will completely repave the intersection at Boys Ranch Road and continue north along Scott Road for approximately three miles, up to where the new section begins,” Hedges said. “The total cost is projected at $2.9 million.”

Hedges said Rodriguez represents numerous communities with pressing needs, including Orangevale, Antelope and North Highlands, “but she wanted to make a meaningful investment in Rancho Murieta this year,” he said.

Merchant echoed that sentiment, emphasizing the importance of the funding. He said receiving “a pretty good chunk of money” was noteworthy, considering that District 4 has tens of thousands of voters, but only about 4,400 of them live in Rancho Murieta.

Merchant said around 70 people responded to Hedges’ social media post, many voicing frustration over the current condition of the road. He has spent the past 20 years studying Scott Road and advocating for its improvement. Full reconstruction would be highly complex and expensive, particularly in the hilly segments where visibility and drainage are major concerns, he said.

“When we combine the Prairie City Road connection to what they plan to pave in this first pass, we are getting a significant portion of this road taken care of,” he said. “Accept the gift for what it is, and we will go from here.”

Merchant played a key role in securing earlier funding that realigned Scott Road to connect with Prairie City Road at the White Rock Road intersection.