Oroville Dam Situation Closes California Highways
UPDATE (5:19 p.m. EST) : All roads closed due to risks from the Oroville Dam have been reopened.
The risk of damage to the Oroville Dam in Northern California not only forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people but also has caused road closures that are affecting freight movement in the nation’s most populous state.
Highway 99 is closed from Durham-Pentz Road to south of Yuba City. Highway 70 is closed from Highway 149 to south of Yuba City. Both of those closures span about 40 miles. The closures went into effect along with the evacuation notice on the night of Feb. 12 and are due to end at noon Feb. 18.
“Highway 99 is a freight route that runs up to Red Bluff,” former Caltrans director Will Kempton told Transport Topics. “It carries a lot of truck traffic. That route and Highway 70 could both be affected by the dam.”
However, the California Trucking Association had yet to report any serious disruptions. And Oregon Trucking Associations President Jana Jarvis said the closures of Highways 70 and 99 hadn’t had a major effect on freight movement on Interstate 5, which is west of those routes and is the major connector between California and Oregon.
California officials remain concerned that a damaged spillway of the nation’s tallest dam could fail. That would flood the Feather River, which runs through Oroville and then down through Yuba City and nearby Marysville.
