diff --git a/lib/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/TraceCleanupSolver.ts b/lib/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/TraceCleanupSolver.ts
index e9bac7ca3..639cb257a 100644
--- a/lib/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/TraceCleanupSolver.ts
+++ b/lib/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/TraceCleanupSolver.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,10 @@ interface TraceCleanupSolverInput {
 
 import { UntangleTraceSubsolver } from "./sub-solver/UntangleTraceSubsolver"
 import { is4PointRectangle } from "./is4PointRectangle"
+import {
+  findCloseSameNetTraceGroups,
+  type CloseSameNetTraceGroup,
+} from "./sub-solver/findCloseSameNetTraceGroups"
 
 /**
  * Represents the different stages or steps within the trace cleanup pipeline.
@@ -42,6 +46,7 @@ export class TraceCleanupSolver extends BaseSolver {
   private outputTraces: SolvedTracePath[]
   private traceIdQueue: string[]
   private tracesMap: Map<string, SolvedTracePath>
+  private closeSameNetTraceGroups: CloseSameNetTraceGroup[] = []
   private pipelineStep: PipelineStep = "untangling_traces"
   private activeTraceId: string | null = null // New property
   override activeSubSolver: BaseSolver | null = null
@@ -54,6 +59,9 @@ export class TraceCleanupSolver extends BaseSolver {
     this.traceIdQueue = Array.from(
       solverInput.allTraces.map((e) => e.mspPairId),
     )
+    this.closeSameNetTraceGroups = findCloseSameNetTraceGroups(
+      solverInput.allTraces,
+    )
   }
 
   override _step() {
@@ -149,6 +157,7 @@ export class TraceCleanupSolver extends BaseSolver {
   getOutput() {
     return {
       traces: this.outputTraces,
+      closeSameNetTraceGroups: this.closeSameNetTraceGroups,
     }
   }
 
@@ -171,10 +180,11 @@ export class TraceCleanupSolver extends BaseSolver {
     for (const trace of this.outputTraces) {
       const line: Line = {
         points: trace.tracePath.map((p) => ({ x: p.x, y: p.y })),
-        strokeColor: trace.mspPairId === this.activeTraceId ? "red" : "blue", // Highlight active trace
+        strokeColor: trace.mspPairId === this.activeTraceId ? "red" : "blue",
       }
       graphics.lines!.push(line)
     }
+
     return graphics
   }
 }
diff --git a/lib/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/sub-solver/findCloseSameNetTraceGroups.ts b/lib/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/sub-solver/findCloseSameNetTraceGroups.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e1e1d85db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/sub-solver/findCloseSameNetTraceGroups.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+import type { SolvedTracePath } from "../../SchematicTraceLinesSolver/SchematicTraceLinesSolver"
+
+export interface CloseSameNetTraceGroup {
+  netId: string
+  traceIds: string[]
+  maxEndpointDistance: number
+}
+
+const distance = (a: { x: number; y: number }, b: { x: number; y: number }) =>
+  Math.hypot(a.x - b.x, a.y - b.y)
+
+const getTraceEndpoints = (trace: SolvedTracePath) => {
+  const start = trace.tracePath[0]
+  const end = trace.tracePath[trace.tracePath.length - 1]
+  return { start, end }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Finds same-net traces whose endpoints are already close enough that they are
+ * likely candidates for a later merge/join phase.
+ *
+ * This is intentionally conservative: it does not mutate paths, it only groups
+ * traces so the pipeline can decide whether to combine them.
+ */
+export const findCloseSameNetTraceGroups = (
+  traces: SolvedTracePath[],
+  maxEndpointDistance = 0.5,
+): CloseSameNetTraceGroup[] => {
+  const groupedByNet = new Map<string, SolvedTracePath[]>()
+
+  for (const trace of traces) {
+    const netId = trace.userNetId ?? trace.globalConnNetId ?? trace.dcConnNetId
+    const current = groupedByNet.get(netId) ?? []
+    current.push(trace)
+    groupedByNet.set(netId, current)
+  }
+
+  const groups: CloseSameNetTraceGroup[] = []
+
+  for (const [netId, netTraces] of groupedByNet.entries()) {
+    if (netTraces.length < 2) continue
+
+    for (let i = 0; i < netTraces.length; i++) {
+      for (let j = i + 1; j < netTraces.length; j++) {
+        const left = netTraces[i]
+        const right = netTraces[j]
+        const a = getTraceEndpoints(left)
+        const b = getTraceEndpoints(right)
+
+        const distances = [
+          distance(a.start, b.start),
+          distance(a.start, b.end),
+          distance(a.end, b.start),
+          distance(a.end, b.end),
+        ]
+        const minDistance = Math.min(...distances)
+
+        if (minDistance <= maxEndpointDistance) {
+          groups.push({
+            netId,
+            traceIds: [left.mspPairId as string, right.mspPairId as string],
+            maxEndpointDistance: minDistance,
+          })
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  return groups.sort((a, b) => a.maxEndpointDistance - b.maxEndpointDistance)
+}
diff --git a/lib/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/sub-solver/mergeCloseSameNetTraces.ts b/lib/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/sub-solver/mergeCloseSameNetTraces.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3ff4a8dcb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/sub-solver/mergeCloseSameNetTraces.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+import type { SolvedTracePath } from "../../SchematicTraceLinesSolver/SchematicTraceLinesSolver"
+import type { CloseSameNetTraceGroup } from "./findCloseSameNetTraceGroups"
+
+export interface MergedTraceResult {
+  originalTraceIds: string[]
+  mergedPath: { x: number; y: number }[]
+  netId: string
+}
+
+/**
+ * Finds the closest pair of endpoints between two traces.
+ */
+const findClosestEndpointPair = (
+  traceA: SolvedTracePath,
+  traceB: SolvedTracePath,
+): { aIdx: number; bIdx: number; aPoint: { x: number; y: number }; bPoint: { x: number; y: number }; distance: number } | null => {
+  const endpointsA = [traceA.tracePath[0], traceA.tracePath[traceA.tracePath.length - 1]]
+  const endpointsB = [traceB.tracePath[0], traceB.tracePath[traceB.tracePath.length - 1]]
+
+  let best: { aIdx: number; bIdx: number; distance: number; aPoint: { x: number; y: number }; bPoint: { x: number; y: number } } | null = null
+
+  for (let ai = 0; ai < endpointsA.length; ai++) {
+    for (let bi = 0; bi < endpointsB.length; bi++) {
+      const dx = endpointsA[ai].x - endpointsB[bi].x
+      const dy = endpointsA[ai].y - endpointsB[bi].y
+      const dist = Math.hypot(dx, dy)
+      if (!best || dist < best.distance) {
+        best = { aIdx: ai, bIdx: bi, aPoint: endpointsA[ai], bPoint: endpointsB[bi], distance: dist }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return best
+}
+
+/**
+ * Builds an L-shaped connecting segment between two points.
+ * Tries horizontal-then-vertical and vertical-then-horizontal, picks the shorter.
+ */
+const buildConnectingSegment = (
+  from: { x: number; y: number },
+  to: { x: number; y: number },
+): { x: number; y: number }[] => {
+  const route1 = [
+    { x: to.x, y: from.y }, // horizontal first, then vertical
+  ]
+  const route2 = [
+    { x: from.x, y: to.y }, // vertical first, then horizontal
+  ]
+
+  // Pick the shorter L-route
+  const len1 = Math.abs(to.x - from.x) + Math.abs(from.y - to.y)
+  const len2 = Math.abs(from.x - to.x) + Math.abs(to.y - from.y)
+
+  return len1 <= len2 ? route1 : route2
+}
+
+/**
+ * Removes consecutive duplicate points from a path.
+ */
+const deduplicatePath = (points: { x: number; y: number }[]) => {
+  const result: { x: number; y: number }[] = []
+  for (const p of points) {
+    const last = result[result.length - 1]
+    if (!last || last.x !== p.x || last.y !== p.y) {
+      result.push(p)
+    }
+  }
+  return result
+}
+
+/**
+ * Given two same-net traces whose endpoints are close (or overlapping),
+ * merges them into a single continuous path.
+ *
+ * Strategy:
+ * 1. Find the closest endpoint pair between the two traces
+ * 2. Determine the direction of each trace from the closest endpoint
+ * 3. Construct a merged path: traceA (from far endpoint toward merge point) +
+ *    connecting segment + traceB (from merge point toward far endpoint)
+ * 4. Deduplicate consecutive identical points
+ */
+export const mergeTwoSameNetTraces = (
+  traceA: SolvedTracePath,
+  traceB: SolvedTracePath,
+  maxMergeDistance: number = 0.5,
+): { x: number; y: number }[] | null => {
+  const pair = findClosestEndpointPair(traceA, traceB)
+  if (!pair || pair.distance > maxMergeDistance) return null
+
+  // Determine which endpoint of traceA and traceB are the merge ends vs far ends
+  const aPath = traceA.tracePath
+  const bPath = traceB.tracePath
+
+  // Build merged path
+  // traceA from its far end to the closest endpoint
+  const aPoints = pair.aIdx === 0 ? [...aPath] : [...aPath].reverse()
+  const bPoints = pair.bIdx === 0 ? [...bPath] : [...bPath].reverse()
+
+  // aPoints now starts at the merge-end of traceA and ends at the far end
+  // bPoints starts at the far end of traceB and ends at the merge-end
+  // We need: traceA far → ... → traceA merge → connector → traceB merge → ... → traceB far
+  const aFromFarToMerge = [...aPoints].reverse()
+  // aFromFarToMerge[0] is the far end, aFromFarToMerge[last] is the merge end
+
+  // Build the connector from traceA's merge-end to traceB's merge-end
+  const aMergePoint = aFromFarToMerge[aFromFarToMerge.length - 1]
+  const bMergePoint = bPoints[0]
+  const connector = buildConnectingSegment(aMergePoint, bMergePoint)
+
+  // bPoints already starts at the merge-end and goes to the far end
+  // But we need to skip the first point of bPoints to avoid duplicating the merge point
+  const bFromMergeToFar = bPoints.slice(1)
+
+  const merged = deduplicatePath([
+    ...aFromFarToMerge,
+    ...connector,
+    ...bFromMergeToFar,
+  ])
+
+  return merged
+}
+
+/**
+ * Takes groups of close same-net traces and attempts to merge each group
+ * into a single continuous trace path.
+ */
+export const mergeCloseSameNetTraceGroups = (
+  groups: CloseSameNetTraceGroup[],
+  allTraces: SolvedTracePath[],
+  maxMergeDistance: number = 0.5,
+): MergedTraceResult[] => {
+  const traceMap = new Map<string, SolvedTracePath>()
+  for (const t of allTraces) {
+    traceMap.set(t.mspPairId, t)
+  }
+
+  const results: MergedTraceResult[] = []
+
+  for (const group of groups) {
+    if (group.traceIds.length < 2) continue
+
+    // Get the traces in this group
+    const groupTraces = group.traceIds
+      .map((id) => traceMap.get(id))
+      .filter((t): t is SolvedTracePath => t !== undefined)
+
+    if (groupTraces.length < 2) continue
+
+    // Merge sequentially: merge first two, then merge result with next, etc.
+    // For now, simple pairwise merge of first two traces in the group
+    const merged = mergeTwoSameNetTraces(groupTraces[0], groupTraces[1], maxMergeDistance)
+
+    if (merged) {
+      results.push({
+        originalTraceIds: [groupTraces[0].mspPairId, groupTraces[1].mspPairId],
+        mergedPath: merged,
+        netId: group.netId,
+      })
+    }
+  }
+
+  return results
+}
diff --git a/tests/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/findCloseSameNetTraceGroups.test.ts b/tests/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/findCloseSameNetTraceGroups.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a7f46dd20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/findCloseSameNetTraceGroups.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+import { expect, test } from "bun:test"
+import { findCloseSameNetTraceGroups } from "lib/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/sub-solver/findCloseSameNetTraceGroups"
+
+const trace = (
+  id: string,
+  netId: string,
+  path: Array<{ x: number; y: number }>,
+) =>
+  ({
+    mspPairId: id,
+    userNetId: netId,
+    globalConnNetId: `${netId}-global`,
+    dcConnNetId: `${netId}-dc`,
+    tracePath: path,
+  }) as any
+
+test("findCloseSameNetTraceGroups groups close same-net traces by endpoint distance", () => {
+  const groups = findCloseSameNetTraceGroups(
+    [
+      trace("a", "N1", [
+        { x: 0, y: 0 },
+        { x: 1, y: 0 },
+      ]),
+      trace("b", "N1", [
+        { x: 1.15, y: 0 },
+        { x: 2, y: 0 },
+      ]),
+      trace("c", "N2", [
+        { x: 10, y: 10 },
+        { x: 11, y: 10 },
+      ]),
+    ],
+    0.2,
+  )
+
+  expect(groups).toHaveLength(1)
+  expect(groups[0].netId).toBe("N1")
+  expect(groups[0].traceIds).toEqual(["a", "b"])
+  expect(groups[0].maxEndpointDistance).toBeLessThanOrEqual(0.2)
+})
diff --git a/tests/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/mergeCloseSameNetTraces.test.ts b/tests/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/mergeCloseSameNetTraces.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..24e82b42d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/mergeCloseSameNetTraces.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+import { expect, test } from "bun:test"
+import type { SolvedTracePath } from "lib/solvers/SchematicTraceLinesSolver/SchematicTraceLinesSolver"
+import { mergeTwoSameNetTraces, mergeCloseSameNetTraceGroups } from "../../../lib/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/sub-solver/mergeCloseSameNetTraces"
+import type { CloseSameNetTraceGroup } from "../../../lib/solvers/TraceCleanupSolver/sub-solver/findCloseSameNetTraceGroups"
+
+const makeTrace = (
+  mspPairId: string,
+  points: { x: number; y: number }[],
+): SolvedTracePath => ({
+  mspPairId,
+  tracePath: points,
+  mspConnectionPairIds: [],
+  pinIds: [],
+  netWithTraceCount: 0,
+  globalConnNetId: "net1",
+}) as SolvedTracePath
+
+test("mergeTwoSameNetTraces merges horizontally adjacent traces", () => {
+  const traceA = makeTrace("a", [
+    { x: 0, y: 0 },
+    { x: 2, y: 0 },
+  ])
+  const traceB = makeTrace("b", [
+    { x: 3, y: 0 },
+    { x: 5, y: 0 },
+  ])
+
+  const result = mergeTwoSameNetTraces(traceA, traceB, 2)
+  expect(result).not.toBeNull()
+  expect(result!.length).toBeGreaterThan(0)
+  // First point should match traceA start
+  expect(result![0]).toEqual({ x: 0, y: 0 })
+  // Last point should match traceB end
+  expect(result![result!.length - 1]).toEqual({ x: 5, y: 0 })
+})
+
+test("mergeTwoSameNetTraces returns null when traces are too far apart", () => {
+  const traceA = makeTrace("a", [
+    { x: 0, y: 0 },
+    { x: 2, y: 0 },
+  ])
+  const traceB = makeTrace("b", [
+    { x: 10, y: 0 },
+    { x: 12, y: 0 },
+  ])
+
+  const result = mergeTwoSameNetTraces(traceA, traceB, 0.5)
+  expect(result).toBeNull()
+})
+
+test("mergeTwoSameNetTraces merges touching endpoints directly", () => {
+  const traceA = makeTrace("a", [
+    { x: 0, y: 0 },
+    { x: 2, y: 0 },
+  ])
+  const traceB = makeTrace("b", [
+    { x: 2, y: 0 },
+    { x: 4, y: 0 },
+  ])
+
+  const result = mergeTwoSameNetTraces(traceA, traceB, 0.5)
+  expect(result).not.toBeNull()
+  // Should produce a continuous path from 0 to 4
+  expect(result![0]).toEqual({ x: 0, y: 0 })
+  expect(result![result!.length - 1]).toEqual({ x: 4, y: 0 })
+})
+
+test("mergeTwoSameNetTraces merges vertically adjacent traces", () => {
+  const traceA = makeTrace("a", [
+    { x: 0, y: 0 },
+    { x: 0, y: 2 },
+  ])
+  const traceB = makeTrace("b", [
+    { x: 0, y: 3 },
+    { x: 0, y: 5 },
+  ])
+
+  const result = mergeTwoSameNetTraces(traceA, traceB, 2)
+  expect(result).not.toBeNull()
+  expect(result![0]).toEqual({ x: 0, y: 0 })
+  expect(result![result!.length - 1]).toEqual({ x: 0, y: 5 })
+})
+
+test("mergeTwoSameNetTraces handles reversed endpoint matching", () => {
+  // Trace B is oriented "backwards" — its merge endpoint is at index [0]
+  const traceA = makeTrace("a", [
+    { x: 0, y: 0 },
+    { x: 2, y: 0 },
+  ])
+  const traceB = makeTrace("b", [
+    { x: 2, y: 0 },
+    { x: 0, y: 2 },
+  ])
+
+  const result = mergeTwoSameNetTraces(traceA, traceB, 0.5)
+  expect(result).not.toBeNull()
+})
+
+test("mergeCloseSameNetTraceGroups processes multiple groups", () => {
+  const traces = [
+    makeTrace("a", [
+      { x: 0, y: 0 },
+      { x: 2, y: 0 },
+    ]),
+    makeTrace("b", [
+      { x: 3, y: 0 },
+      { x: 5, y: 0 },
+    ]),
+    makeTrace("c", [
+      { x: 10, y: 0 },
+      { x: 12, y: 0 },
+    ]),
+  ]
+
+  const groups: CloseSameNetTraceGroup[] = [
+    { netId: "net1", traceIds: ["a", "b"], maxEndpointDistance: 1 },
+  ]
+
+  const results = mergeCloseSameNetTraceGroups(groups, traces, 2)
+  expect(results.length).toBe(1)
+  expect(results[0].originalTraceIds).toContain("a")
+  expect(results[0].originalTraceIds).toContain("b")
+  expect(results[0].netId).toBe("net1")
+})
+
+test("mergeCloseSameNetTraceGroups returns empty for single-trace groups", () => {
+  const traces = [makeTrace("a", [{ x: 0, y: 0 }, { x: 2, y: 0 }])]
+  const groups: CloseSameNetTraceGroup[] = [
+    { netId: "net1", traceIds: ["a"], maxEndpointDistance: 0 },
+  ]
+
+  const results = mergeCloseSameNetTraceGroups(groups, traces)
+  expect(results.length).toBe(0)
+})