(FOX40.COM) — The City of Wheatland and Yuba County are making strides in improving vehicle travel around the southern area of the county and potential emergency response times to Beale Air Force Base.
The South Yuba Transportation Improvement Authority, a partnership between Wheatland and the county, is looking to create an expressway around the city and improve access to Beale AFB from the south.
Anyone driving on SR-65 around Wheatland knows that a 30-minute delay could be caused by the most minor vehicle incident and a major crash could back up traffic for hours.
In order to alleviate some of that traffic, SYTIA is proposing the East Wheatland Expressway that will run from Riosa Road, west of Sheridan to Spencerville Road, east of Wheatland.
One of the main motives for the expressway is to offer a better route for local traffic looking to head into the eastern area of the city or towards Beale Air Force Base.
Other reasons include:
• Providing an additional route during evacuations due to flood or fire
• Offer better access to central and eastern Wheatland for anticipated development
• Improve local air quality by reducing traffic congestion at the Main Street traffic signal
• Increase safety along SR-65
The bypass would require overpasses to be built over SR-65, Union Pacific Railroad tracks, the Bear River and the South Sutter Canal at Riosa Road.
Signaled intersections would also need to be installed along Riosa Road and Spenceville Road.
Currently, the project is in the “study” phase which is being funded by SYTIA, but the full project will need to be funded through federal and state grants.
Matthew Nobert
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