Lake Tahoe bike path carries high construction cost

Visitors to Lake Tahoe’s east shore could soon have a new bike path linking upscale Incline Village to Nevada’s Sand Harbor State Park, but the price tag might induce sticker shock: $12.5 million for the 3-mile project.

Yes, that is more than $4 million a mile in taxpayer dollars for a 10-foot-wide bike path traveling just about 16,000 feet along the picturesque mountain lake.

Not to mention another $7 million to $9 million that the Nevada Transportation Department plans to spend in state gas taxes in conjunction with the project on related environmental and safety needs.

Another $750,000 in private donations has also been raised for the path.

The stretch of shoreline where the path will be built is difficult terrain, and the stretch of state Route 28 that will be bypassed is narrow and not safe for pedestrians or bicyclists, even though both can be found on the edges of the road, especially in the summer months.

It will also require construction of an underpass beneath the highway where the trail goes from the east side of the road to the west side. The feature will link it with the Flume Trail, a spectacular mountain bike ride high above the lake.

But the cost of the project gets one’s attention.

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