Rock on US50 blasted, clean up underway

Update 2:37 p.m.: US50 is now open in both directions.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The massive rock that fell onto US50 at Echo Summit Thursday evening was blown up this morning at 10:00 a.m. and the resulting debris is now being cleaned off.

The large boulder, at first estimated to be two stories high, three stories wide, was filled with blasting tubes overnight before the "fire in the hole" was called out prior to detonation.

"We are fortunate in that our South Lake Tahoe Maintenance crew is trained in boulder blasting," said Caltrans.

The largest block of rock was 23 feet long and 13 feet high, with "smaller" pieced 8-10 feet wide. The total of rock that fell on the road was 458 tons. A total of 14 lbs of explosive was drilled into holes created on the boulders overnight.

The Caltrans emergency contractor Granite Construction is now on the scene removing the debris and the road should be reopened by early afternoon, Caltrans District 3 has indicated that Highway 50 could open by 2:00 p,n, today. Once the rocks are cleared away crews will have to check for any possible damage to the road.

It has been snowing lightly overnight so once the road opens drivers will also need to watch for any possible road controls. For the latest highway conditions check Caltrans' QuickMap http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov.