Relief is on the way for drivers traveling through Marysville, more than a month after a fire at a historic hotel caused the closure of Highway 70. (You can watch previous coverage in the video player above.) On Thursday, Caltrans opened the southbound lanes, saying they were safe for drivers. After the fire, city leaders closed the road along Highway 70 and E Street due to concerns the hotel might collapse. “I was really excited to see southbound 70 open,” Melody Mihalic said. Mihalic drives from Brown Valley to Rancho Cordova, so she's relieved the lanes are open. She said it will shorten her drive time by 40 minutes. “This closure is terrible not only for all the businesses, but for the people who live here and everyone who visits here,” she said. The 7-Eleven at E Street and 5th Avenue across from the historic hotel has been struggling since it closed June 15 after the building caught fire. “We just closed down and we lost about 75% of our sales,” said 7-Eleven owner Igbal Gil. The city closed the road because the building was unstable and feared it might collapse. It's now surrounded by high fencing and barricades. Gil said traffic is very light and he's using his own money to pay salaries. But now that the southbound lanes are open again, he said customers will return. “At least, this is a very positive thing. At least, we're seeing more traffic,” Gil said. D Street, just a few blocks from the hotel fire scene, will be closed for the next two days for the 24th annual Marysville Peach Festival. Organizers hope visitors will bring more traffic to businesses struggling with the fire. “The traffic volume through here is unprecedented, the traffic is non-stop, and businesses are hurting right now,” festival organizer Carrie Hauck said. Hauck said the timing of southbound 70 opening the day before the Peach Festival is perfect. “I think it'll help alleviate some of the traffic detours that are happening downtown,” Hauck said. “I think it'll make it easier for festival-goers to get around the festival footprint.” They expect 25,000 people to come for the peaches and help businesses. Organizers said some adjustments had to be made because of the hotel fire and road closures. The festival was moved two blocks north, from 3rd Street to 8th Street. Caltrans has not said when northbound 70 will open.
Relief is on the way for drivers traveling through Marysville.
It's been more than a month since a fire at a historic hotel caused the closure of Highway 70.
(Watch previous coverage in the video player above)
The California Department of Transportation reopened the southbound lanes Thursday, saying it was safe for motorists.
After the fire, city leaders closed the roads along Highway 70 and E Street due to fears the hotel could collapse.
“I was really excited to see southbound I-70 open,” Melody Mihalic said.
Mahalic said he drives from Brown Valley to Rancho Cordova and is relieved by the opening, which he said will cut his drive time by 40 minutes.
“This closure is not only terrible for all the businesses, it's terrible for the people who live here and everyone who visits here,” she said.
The 7-Eleven at E Street and 5th Avenue across from the historic hotel has been struggling since it closed June 15 after a fire ripped through its building.
“We just went bankrupt and lost about 75 percent of our sales,” said 7-Eleven owner Igbal Gil.
The city has closed the road due to fears the building is unstable and may collapse, and it is now surrounded by high fencing and barricades in case the building collapses.
Gill said work was so slow that he was using his own money to pay the salaries.
But he said customers will return once the southbound lanes reopen.
“At the very least, this is a very good thing, at least we're seeing an increase in traffic,” Gill said.
D Street, just a few blocks from the hotel fire, will be closed for the next two days for the 24th annual Marysville Peach Festival, with organizers hoping to attract more visitors and boost foot traffic to a shopping strip that has been hit hard by the fire.
“The amount of traffic that's coming through here is unprecedented, traffic is non-stop and businesses are suffering right now,” festival organizer Callie Hauck said.
Hauck said the timing of the opening of southbound I-70, the day before the Peach Festival, was perfect.
“We think it will help alleviate some of the traffic detours that are occurring downtown,” Hauck said. “We think it will make it easier for festival-goers to get around the impacts of the festival.”
They hope that 25,000 people will come to buy peaches and help out the business.
Organizers said the hotel fire and road closures had forced them to make some adjustments.
The festival moved two blocks north, from 3rd Avenue to 8th Avenue.
Caltrans has not said when northbound Interstate 70 will reopen.
