Smoother Ride Coming Soon to State Route 20 in Nevada County

Nevada County - Work is scheduled to start next week on a $34.6 million pavement rehabilitation project along State Route 20 (SR 20) in Nevada County that will extend the service life of the existing pavement and improve ride quality on nearly 26 miles of highway between Nevada City and the junction with Interstate 80.

The project was funded in part by $3.6 million from Senate Bill (SB) 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017.

Upcoming work includes rehabilitating the pavement and drainage systems, constructing maintenance vehicle pull outs (MVP), and upgrading guardrail, signs and Transportation Management System (TMS) elements.

"We take pride in the communities we serve every day and strive to improve their lives through transportation," said Caltrans District 3 Director Sergio Aceves. "State Route 20 is a vital corridor for Nevada County and it's important to improve the highway's safety, serviceability and ride quality with pavement improvement projects such as this one."

The project also engaged external partners to facilitate best practices for incorporating roadside fire fuel reduction activities near structures and to extend wildfire breaks along SR 20, which functions as a primary emergency response and evacuation route.

Construction is scheduled to begin on Monday, April 27 with clearing organic debris around the area for the MVPs, which will be used for maintenance vehicles to park safely off the highway. Drainage work will follow, with the main pavement work scheduled to start in June. Knife River Construction of Chico is the prime contractor for the project, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

SB 1 provides $5 billion in transportation funding annually that is shared equally between state and local agencies. Road projects progress through construction phases more quickly based on the availability of SB 1 funds, including projects that are partially funded by SB 1. Visit build.ca.gov/ to learn more about transformative infrastructure projects happening in communities throughout the state.

Caltrans District 3 is responsible for maintaining and operating 4,385 lane miles in 11 Sacramento Valley and Northern Sierra counties. Drivers are reminded to "Be Work Zone Alert" and slow in construction zones for safety of travelers and crews performing these improvements.

The department issues construction updates on X @CaltransDist3 and Facebook CaltransDistrict3. For real-time traffic, click on Caltrans QuickMap or download the QuickMap app from the App Store and Google Play.

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