freeway

The Nevada Department of Transportation is inviting Nevada drivers to submit contest entries for creative traffic safety messages to be displayed on electronic freeway signs.

Last year, nearly 285 individuals were killed in Nevada traffic crashes. With over 90% of U.S. crashes caused in part by driver behavior, the message boards are an important driving safety reminder.

Remember minivans? Now think about this for a moment: how many new minivans do you see on the road? In my youth, it seemed like every third car on the road was a people carrier. In 2020 I hardly see any brand-new ones, and the answer seems to be that minivan buyers simply switched to SUVs instead. Maybe it’s because they’re simply uncool and became a cliché of new parents. Regardless of the reason, what if there was a vehicle that is a marriage of both? Enter the Pilot.

No, this can’t be. It’s too interesting to be a Rav4. Over the waning ‘teens, Toyota has sought to seemingly reinvent itself as a carmaker of interest. Now, that begs an important question, though: did they have to? Even as the cars became more and more relentlessly boring, people still bought them to make for the single biggest car brand in the world.

Beginning Oct. 6, exit numbers on the Interstate 580 Carson City Freeway will change as part of a Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) project to resurface and enhance the interstate.

The current exit numbers range from 38 to 42, and through the coming week will be replaced with new, lower exit numbers corresponding with roadway mileage as follows:

Fairview Drive - Exit 3
U.S. 50/Willian Street - Exit 5
College Parkway - Exit 6
Arrowhead Drive - Exit 7

The community is invited to join the Tahoe Chamber in their visit to Carson City on July 16 from noon to 5:00 p.m. to explore how Carson City leaders and community members successfully transformed and revitalized their downtown main street.

The developing Main Street Management Plan for South Lake Tahoe parallels much of what Carson City did, and those going on the trek will have the chance to learn about the history of Nevada project and how the current business climate of the area has improved since the highway realignment.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - Costco is in the preliminary stages of considering building a warehouse in El Dorado Hills on the east side of Silva Valley Parkway, almost 80 miles to the west of Lake Tahoe on US50.

According to a County spokesperson, Costco has an internal selection and approval process which includes the company president doing a site visit. Costco representatives said they hope to have a final decision in April.

As January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, one might ask, “exactly what is human trafficking?”

Human trafficking is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by means of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, for the purpose of exploitation. Sex trafficking is defined as a commercial sex act that is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age. Of particular note is the automatic classification of trafficking in children under 18 years of age.

The public has the opportunity to comment on the Nevada segment of Interstate 11 (I-11), a planned four-lane highway from Mexico to Canada. The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) is seeking public input on recommended corridor alternatives for the future I-11 connecting Las Vegas and northwestern Nevada.

The next phase of the South Tahoe Greenway Shared Use Trail will now be completed by El Dorado County, a move that is estimated to save $1,000,000.

During this week's meeting of the California Tahoe Conservancy Board, approval was given to the transfer of a $3.182 million grant to El Dorado County to build the next phase of the South Tahoe Greenway Shared Use Trail. Conservancy staff recommended transferring the project from the State to the County who they said is in an advantageous position to deliver the project, and has indicated that it can complete the Project in a timely manner.

Higher fuel taxes are set to start November 1, 2017, raising the base gasoline excise tax from 18 cents to 30 cents per gallon. Senate Bill 1 was signed into law by California Jerry Brown and contains other increases that will cover the state's transportation needs for the next ten years with an extra $52 billion in revenue.

Other funds are coming from a new transportation improvement fee based on vehicle value, and paying off past transportation loans, Caltrans savings, and new charges on diesel fuel and zero-emission vehicles.

Those traveling to and from Lake Tahoe this week may want to take note of traffic alerts on both Interstate 80 and Highway 50.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will be doing overnight Work to repair rough spots in the roadway Monday night through Friday morning. They will be doing grinding and paving work on U.S. Highway 50 on the section of the roadway that descends after Echo Summit into the Tahoe Basin.

Thousands of people turned out Saturday morning to celebrate the near-completion of the much-anticipated Carson City Interstate 580 freeway bypass riding their bicycles, walking, jogging or skating on top of the pavement that will soon carry tens of thousands of vehicles upon it when open next month.

The I-580 run, walk and ride event began about 9 a.m. Saturday and continued until noon.

The community is invited to take part in a free fun walk, run and ride celebrating the upcoming opening of the last leg of the Interstate 580 Carson City Freeway, the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) announced.

While the freeway isn't scheduled to open to vehicles until August, NDOT is going to have an opening ceremony to pedestrians, runners and cyclists on Saturday, July 22 at 9:00 a.m. Participants can arrive at any time from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for a self-paced experience on the new freeway.

Drivers heading off the hill and going into Carson City via U.S. 50 need to be aware of lane shifts on the highway near South Carson Street. The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) will be reducing traffic down to one lane in each direction, and shifting it slightly to the south, starting the evening of Tuesday, April 25 and into early May.

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) has begun installation of new “Welcome to Nevada” signs designed by Nevada art students.

The first welcome sign was installed Wednesday, March 15 at the Nevada-California border on State Route 88 south of Minden. Signs will be installed at approximately 25 other border locations statewide over the coming months.

Instead of the welcome signs, select border crossings such as State Route 28 in Crystal Bay and U.S. 395 near Bordertown will receive gateway monuments in the future.

Caltrans is alerting motorists to expect delays on westbound Interstate 80 northeast of Colfax as work to perform a number of different maintenance operations will result in delays from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 1 and Thursday, March 2.

If you're driving north of Lake Tahoe this month, expect delays as the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) begins to groove pavement on Interstate 80 Monday, November 7. Crews will be working from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. until November 23.

Additional work days may be required after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. (No work is scheduled on Veterans’ Day November 11.)

The trip from Lake Tahoe to Reno will be a shorter one once the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) completes the final leg of the I-580 Carson City Freeway. As of Thursday, construction is 50 percent completed.

Those making the trip down Highway 50 to Carson City have seen almost one million cubic yards of earth excavated to make way for the future roadway that will be completed in 2017.

The excavation was needed to lower the elevation of sections of the freeway to bring the road below existing overpasses and reduce traffic noise.

Its not every day one sees a pelican in the back seat of a California Highway Patrol vehicle.

On Tuesday night, the CHP office in Truckee received reports of an injured pelican on I-80 westbound, west of Overland Trail. Upon arrival, CHP officers saw the troubled bird attempt to fly away, but instead landed directly next to the travel lanes of the freeway.

Even though construction won't start until 2019, a major step forward to the completion of the South Tahoe Greenway Shared-Use Trail Project occurred Thursday when the California Tahoe Conservancy approved the updated project and authorized an additional $200,000 in funding.

Hundreds of new California laws take effect on January 1, 2016, many that will have tangible impacts on the lives of Californians as they work, drive, ride a bike and shop.

Here is an overview of some of them:

Transportation:

When South Lake Tahoe became a city in 1965 there will freeway sized billboards in the community along Pioneer Trail and Highway 50. Since then, code has been written, and re-written over the years, all meant to improve the visual quality of South Lake Tahoe.

The City Code details all requirements about the type, placement, and scale of signs within different land use categories.

What would you do if you had a family miniature golf business you wanted to pass onto your four children? Build three more, of course!

In 1972, Bill and Mary Koplin built Magic Carpet Golf on land they purchased from Marjorie Springmeyer adjacent to what was once the South Lake Tahoe amusement park. Marjorie had overheard Bill and his real estate agent talking in a local restaurant about Bill's plans for building the course. "I have a piece of property I can sell you," Marjorie told them.

Nighttime lane closures will be in place over the coming week on South Carson Street and U.S. 50 near Spooner junction for the Nevada Department of Transportation’s Carson City Freeway project.

Lane closures and reduced speed limits will be in place on both South Carson Street and U.S. 50 in the Spooner junction area beginning Sunday, June 19 from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. The closures are anticipated to last for approximately one week.