Construction on Sierra Tract Erosion Control Project to start soon

There were just a few residents in attendance at Tuesday's construction kickoff meeting about the City of South Lake Tahoe's Sierra Tract Erosion Control Project, Phases 3 & 4. The project will reduce erosion and sediment discharges in to the Upper Truckee River and Lake Tahoe.

City planners and the contractor were on hand to present the building schedule and explain what residents will experience over the next two building seasons.

The project has been in the planning stage since 2007. It will include various water quality improvements including construction of intermittent curb and gutter, new storm drain pipe and drain inlets, infiltration systems, and infiltration basins. All construction activities will occur within the existing public right-of-way (roadway) or on publicly owned parcels.

Not all streets in the Sierra Tract neighborhood will receive the curb and gutters. Areas further away from the Truckee River will not get them. In the picture contained in this article, the corners and streets highlighted in dark black will receive the water quality improvements. The new ponds will be installed at the corner of Sierra Blvd and Chris Avenue as well as on Lodi Avenue.

Linda Burdick, co-owner of Burdick Excavating, was at Tuesday's meeting to alert residents on what they can expect in the way of construction on their streets. She will have a Facebook page during the project so people can log on and see where crews will be that week. There will be no information on this page until things start in the next two weeks. In the meantime Burdick will be installing construction BMPs and putting up construction signs.

The project will not be addressing the flooding Sierra Tract sees during the rainy season, but the areas getting curbs and gutters may see the problem alleviated a little. This project will be strictly an erosion control project to keep Lake Tahoe free of fine sediments.