The lanes would stretch between West El Camino Avenue and Watt Avenue. Cassandra Pitts with Caltrans says the lanes would help prevent traffic jams.    

"The Sacramento region, everyone can see everyday, is just increasing and this is one of the ways to move more people and so that people are not sitting on the freeways getting frustrated with backlogged traffic." 

But critics say adding carpool lanes don’t necessarily result in more carpooling. Eric Davis with the Environmental Council of Sacramento says they often create more traffic. 

"Usually when carpool lanes get built in this vicinity usually what it means is freeway expansion and what they’re doing is adding a lane to a freeway which increasing the carrying capacity of the freeway and induces more traffic."

Caltrans wants to get public input on the project. The agency is holding a public meeting Tuesday at the District 3 Office in Sacramento. Construction is scheduled to start in the fall of 2009.