Proposals detailing the next set of road widening and safety improvements for State Route 70 go before the public this evening.
Derided for years as an accident prone ‘blood alley,’ Caltrans is upgrading highway 70 between Marysville and Oroville. With the first phase complete and the second about to get underway, state transportation officials will roll out conceptual plans for the third stage this evening.
The public will have a chance to offer feedback, which could lead to some alterations.
“There can be some design things, in terms of maybe access routes and that.” Caltrans spokesman Gilbert Mohtes-Chan said.
Caltrans intends to add a second lane in each direction between the Yuba County line and East Gridley Road, along with wide shoulders, and a continuous center turn lane. Mohtes-Chan said that when complete, Highway 70 will be more like an expressway than a freeway.
Reducing the number of injury accidents is the main reason for the overall project. The first segments, running south from Oroville, were only recently completed Mohtes Chan said it’s too soon to quantify success.
“It’s a little early to tell. We usually give it some time, especially when you have the holiday season and the weather. So, we’ll be monitoring that and seeing how things go.” Mohtes-Chan said.
The 90-minute meeting begins this evening at 5:30, at the Feather River Adventist School, on Cox Lane at Highway 70, south of Oroville.