Roadwork season returns in South Lake Tahoe

The three-year long, $56.9 million Caltrans project on a two-mile stretch of Highway 50 from the Y to the Trout Creek Bridge is set to resume next week in South Lake Tahoe.

Scope of work in 2018 is from Winnemucca Avenue to Silver Dollar Avenue as well as repaving the “Y” intersection. Work is scheduled to begin Monday, April 30 at 6:00 a.m. from Winnemucca Avenue working east. The work schedule for May will be from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The project is building drainage systems to treat stormwater runoff as part of the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program (EIP), a multi-agency effort created to protect and improve the natural and recreational resources of the Lake Tahoe Basin. It includes widening the roadway to provide 6-foot shoulders for bike lanes in both directions, replacing traffic signals, rebuilding curbs, gutters and sidewalks, and improving the pavement cross slope.

Work began in spring 2017 and is scheduled to be completed in fall 2019.

Caltrans also is coordinating with the City of South Lake Tahoe to incorporate signal and operational improvements at Sierra Boulevard.

The construction contract was awarded to Security Paving Company, Inc. The contractor is allowed to work around the clock Monday through Thursday and until 11:00 a.m. Friday before Memorial Day and after Labor Day and until 8:00 a.m. Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

At least one lane will be open to traffic in each direction at all times and two lanes of traffic will be open during the peak season daytime from Memorial Day to Labor Day. No lane closures will be permitted on weekends or around major holidays.

Motorists may experience delays of up to 30 minutes traveling through construction zone during peak traffic when the highway is reduced to one lane in each direction.

Work also has resumed on building a 192-foot retaining wall along the northbound lane of State Highway 89 at Emerald Bay. The location is just south of Inspiration Point. Automated signals are being used to control traffic as work takes place behind concrete barriers. The target completion date is before Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, but work might extend into June because of some difficulties drilling down into the granite to build the wall. The cost of project, which also included a new concrete barrier near Eagle Falls, is $4.4 million.

Please “Be Work Zone Alert” when traveling through construction zones or maintenance operations along the highway.

Caltrans’ Tahoe Basin project website, TahoeRoads.com, has more information on highway projects around the Basin, weekly look-ahead roadwork reports, and an Open for Business page. Businesses affected by roadwork are welcome to submit information for a free "Open for Business" ad.

Project updates also will be posted to the TahoeRoad’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.