North-South Connector Meeting Thursday

As work on the Caltrans East Sonora Expressway wraps-up, talk of another by-pass is coming into the forefront.

The North-South Connector Project hopes to ease the traffic load on Highway 49 as it passes through downtown Sonora.

Tuolumne County project spokesman Mark Houghton says a public meeting on the project is planned for Thursday evening.

“The real purpose behind the project, since its inception, was to really relieve traffic congestion downtown,” Houghton said Wednesday.

He added the project has been in the works since the mid-1980s.

“It has been, from the county perspective, a concern. For some time, we´re just finally getting to the point where we can get this relaunched.”

County staff will be on hand to answer questions, and public comments will be heard.

The meeting, at the Sonora Elks Lodge, is from 6:30 to 8pm Thursday night.