District: District 3 - Marysville
Contact: Gilbert Mohtes-Chan
Phone: (530) 682-6145
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Butte County— Reaching a major milestone, Caltrans plans to open by Wednesday, November 23, the new passing lanes on State Route (SR) 70 in Southern Butte County. The new lanes are part of the $63.3 million SR-70 Corridor Improvement and Bridge Project that includes building a new structure over Honcut Creek at the Butte-Yuba County line.
“Safety is our top priority, so we’re pleased that motorists will be able to safely pass slow moving vehicles between East Gridley Road and Lower Honcut Road,” said Caltrans District 3 Director Amarjeet S. Benipal. “We’re on target to finish construction of the new bridge and remaining improvements next year. After we open the new bridge, motorists will have continuous passing opportunities from Oroville to the Butte-Yuba County line.”
State Route 70 is a major economic corridor in Butte County, connecting commuters and commercial freight operations between the Oroville Chico areas and the Sacramento region. On average, about 17,000 vehicles and approximately 900 trucks per day use this segment of Highway 70. In addition to the new lanes, the improvement project will also include widening the shoulders to eight feet, upgrading drainage systems, and establishing an area for vehicles veering off the roadway to return to the main highway.
Caltrans and the Butte County of Governments (BCAG) are partners on this project, which includes $10.4 million in local, $11.8 million in state, and $41.8 million in federal funding. Since 2011, Caltrans and BCAG have invested $124.5 million in four previous safety projects that constructed a four-lane expressway and passing lanes from the State Route 162 junction in Oroville to the intersection of SR-70 and East Gridley Road.
Caltrans District 3 maintains more than 4,385 lanes miles of state highway in 11 Sacramento Valley and Northern Sierra counties. The department issues updates about road conditions on Twitter and on Facebook. For real-time traffic information, go to Caltrans' QuickMap or download the free Caltrans QuickMap app from the App Store or Google Play.
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