Downtown Marysville might catch break with traffic congestion after hotel fire
MARYSVILLE — An engineering report that came out early might be the key to moving things along in Yuba County with recovering from the Hotel Marysville fire.
Highway 70 is still closed through downtown Marysville, but there might be a light at the end of the tunnel.
To recap, the city found another complication besides the fire at Hotel Marysville in asbestos, which is making potential demolition even more complicated because the city doesn't want it flying through the air.
"That's daunting. That's interwoven into the fabric structure of the building, so it's a major project," Marysville resident Tom Galvin said.
"There's families, children out here, the waterways, the rivers—it can contaminate everything really," said another Marysville resident, Samantha Worthley.
According to the most recent building assessment done by Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, the engineers found the building's top floor walls are at most risk of collapsing. The bottom floors are likely stable enough to support people going inside.
"Which may allow a company to get in there and abate the asbestos before demolishing the building," said Marysville City Manager Jim Schaad.
Schaad said the demolition isn't set in stone and they're still in discussions with the building's owner, but regardless of demolition, downtown Marysville might catch a break with traffic congestion.
"Our travel times just going over the bridge, you need to leave your house 30-45 minutes early compared to what it usually is," Worthley said.
The engineering report recommends a 10-foot-tall debris screen be installed should the top walls give out. This would reduce the fence perimeter to 60 feet, allowing the southbound lanes of Highway 70 to open up.
"It's irritating because it's really slowing things down and it's where everyone has to take alternative routes. If you don't have a car you're having to walk around all these places because you're not allowed to walk through," Worthley said.
According to the Marysville police chief, the cause of the fire is still under investigation. The 10-foot debris catcher is being discussed between the City of Marysville and Caltrans.
