NEVADA CITY/GRASS VALLEY, April 29 2009 - Trucks detoured from interstate 80 onto SR 20 and 49 through Grass Valley and Nevada City have been making a lot of press, and the situation for locals will continue to heat up as summer approaches.
We're pleased to announce the launch of www.20and49isnot80.com. The web page details some of the detour's local financial, health, and quality-of-life impacts; local and regional media coverage; and possible alternatives. There are also links to an online petition to address the community's concerns, and to the Caltrans detour information web page at www.getacross80.com. Concerned individuals can also go to the web page to sign up for an announcement-only email list for news about the detour.
Wednesday night's 'public information session' hosted by Caltrans at Nevada City Hall was hastily converted by residents into an ad-hoc town hall meeting, with quite a bit of heated but healthy discussion between the community and Caltrans. One of the most interesting options discussed was to keep the night-time detour on the interstate by using one side of the freeway at a time as a two-way street, in a 'crossover' configuration, while the other side is completely closed for road work. Several other options were discussed that could make the situation more bearable than it is currently.
The task now is to make sure that follow-up is quick and effective: air-conditioning season, fire season, and downtown event season are rapidly approaching.
