Eaton Road overcrossing closed until September
CHICO >> The Eaton Road overcrossing of Highway 99 will be closed to traffic heading east, from 9 p.m. through 5 a.m. Mondays through Fridays until Sept. 17.
The closure is for the construction of the Highway 99 and Eaton Road Interchange Improvement Project. Construction on the project began Aug. 9 and is being done by contractor Knife River Construction. Once completed, Highway 99 north ramps at Eaton Road and Hicks Lane will form one multilane, five-leg roundabout intersection.
The city said although the two intersections will be combined, the local circulation and access will remain unchanged.
The primary purpose of this project is to improve safety for all travel modes at the Highway 99 north ramp intersection and Hicks Lane intersection with Eaton Road. Public Works Engineering Director Brendan Ottoboni said in July after multiple evaluations of ways to improve safety, the addition of a roundabout was determined to be the safest way to get traffic on and off the highway.
“Backing up on Highway 99, especially after the Camp Fire, was seen as a real safety issue but even before that we kind of knew we needed to do something,” Ottoboni said. “The reason a signal appeared to not work was because of that fifth-leg — you’d have to add an additional phase of the signal.”
The city said the secondary purpose of adding a roundabout is to improve operations, reduce delay and enhance mobility for transportation.
Ottoboni said the total cost of the project is somewhere in the $4.7 million range, funded from a grant by the state’s Highway Safety Improvement Program.
“People have different opinions on roundabouts and stuff like that, but the reality is this is the right application for it and we have a grant specifically for this project to get those improvements,” he said.
The city is encouraging drivers to build extra time into their schedules, plan alternative routes to avoid the project area when possible, and drive with caution to avoid hazards and maximize the safety of workers in the roadway.
A detour map for eastbound traffic closure can be found at https://bit. ly/3Bh49pt.
Information on the the Highway 99 and Eaton Road Interchange Improvement Project can be found at https://bit.ly/3myVJ8M.