Full closure of US50 over Echo Summit moved to after Labor Day

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A planned full closure of US50 over Echo Summit for the Sidehill Viaduct Replacement Project has been postponed to after Labor Day, 2020.

Caltrans made the announcement on Thursday that construction has not progressed enough to where the bridgework requiring a full closure could not be completed by June 15.

A full closure of Highway 50 is not permitted between June 15 and Labor Day due to high traffic volumes expected during the peak summer season in South Lake Tahoe.

This $14.1 million project is replacing the existing bridge, which was built in 1939, with a structure that meets current seismic and safety standards. Construction started in May 2019.

The project was originally set for completion in 2019 but seven precast bridge girders needed for the bridge were not ready in time prior to winter. Crews resumed work this Spring and there has been one-way controlled traffic in the area as they prepared for the girders.

No traffic-interfering work on the project is anticipated now until sometime in August.

Requests for passes for local residents and businesses to use Johnson Pass Road as a detour around the worksite also are suspended but will be made available again once closure dates are solidified later in the summer.

There were many in South Lake Tahoe that were concerned a full closure would hamper the community's reopening plans and prevent visitors from coming, but another group supported the original June closure as non-essential travel wasn't allowed and better to get over with now, instead of September when more businesses could be open.

For more information on the project, visit Way2.Tahoe.com on Twitter @way2Tahoe or on Facebook/Way2Tahoe.