Hammonton Smartsville Road temporarily closed for drainage project in Linda
LINDA — Yuba County is undergoing a project to reduce the risk of flooding on a busy stretch of road east of Marysville and it's causing a two-week closure.
The county is trying to get ahead of the potential for localized flooding ahead of the rain season.
Hammonton Smartsville Road will be closed from Alberta Ave to Griffith Avenue in Linda. Residents there are concerned about the timing of it all as they're still feeling the impacts of the Hotel Marysville traffic.
"Something like the Hotel Marysville, which was unexpected, it doesn't really have a say on long-term projects like these," Yuba County spokesperson Rachel Abbott said. "Hammonton Smartsville Road is a well-traveled road, but we're asking people to take North Beale Road instead. That's just about a mile away from here."
This week, you can expect closures between 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., but next week, it'll be closed 24/7.
"This area is known to be impacted by localized flooding in the winter season and it's long been on the public work's priority list to address those issues," Abbott said.
The county is fixing drainage in the area by putting in storm drain lines and a new interceptor drainage canal. It's a relatively small stretch of the road, but due to the amount of work and the amount of traffic being detoured, people have concerns.
"By shutting down all the main roads, everybody is either late to work or late getting home to their families," Yuba County resident Patience McClelland.
McClelland said she was late to work Tuesday morning. She also said it's the route people take to avoid traffic through downtown Marysville because of the aftermath of the hotel fire.
"It still is impacted. There's so much traffic, you can sit there for 30 minutes, if not an hour, and you're just late for anything and everything. They could've started it at any other time," McClelland said.
Yuba County says the work might take longer than expected, possibly extending the closure for a third week. They say they are evaluating the work and will let people know if that becomes the case.