Meyers roundabout to be fully open by Labor Day Weekend

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The new roundabout in Meyers on Highway 50 at the base of Echo Summit has already been partially open but on Thursday motorists will be able to use the complete roundabout as designed, including the westbound by-pass lane.

Final paving will be done Wednesday and Thursday night so the bypass lane of the roundabout should be open by Thursday morning. The speed limit in the area is posted at 20 mph through the roundabout, 30 mph as one exits to the west and 40 mph will remain the speed limit through Meyers.

There will still be some electrical and permanent erosion control work still to be completed but nothing is planned that would interfere with the roadway.

The $4.1M Caltrans safety project was to include by the end:

- An Inscribed Circle Diameter of 135 feet
- A single lane for all three legs, plus a bypass lane for the westbound US 50 traffic
- The three legs will have Chicanes; the purpose of a Chicane is to narrow and curve the roadway slightly to slow traffic speeds
- A 15 foot wide truck apron and a 19 foot wide travel lane. The truck apron consists of colored and stamped concrete which will be different from, but complementary to, the textured pavement in the splitter islands and bypass lane.
- The barrier between the roundabout and the bypass lane has a maximum of 15 feet; just north of the bypass lane the shoulder will be approximately eight feet

The existing Class 1 shared-use trail (Pat Lowe Memorial Bike Trail) will connect to a pedestrian/bicycle path and a proposed Class 1 shared-use trail in the eastbound direction of US 50. The path has been closed in the construction area but will reopen. The old gas station on Highway 50 on the north side of the roundabout has been torn down. The trail ended there and will go further to the Upper Truckee bridge.