Caltrans project outlined to South Lake Tahoe community

For the next three summers, Caltrans crews will be in town to work on their U.S. Highway 50 South Lake Tahoe Highway Improvement Project, and Caltrans spoke with locals Wednesday evening about what they could expect during the project which starts May 1, 2017 and should end by winter, 2019. This will be their last Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program (EIP) task to collect and treat stormwater runoff which accomplishes several other goals as well.

$57 million will be spent in South Lake Tahoe to also:

- Widen the road to provide six-foot shoulders on each side for Class II bike lanes and widen bus pullouts so the buses will not stop following traffic.

- Repave the road and improve the roadway cross slope.
- Reconstruct curb and gutter, driveways and sidewalks to ADA standards.
- Upgrade intersection signals at 3rd Street, Tahoe Keys Boulevard, Sierra Boulevard, Rubicon Trail/O'Malley Drive and construct a new signal at Lodi Avenue.
- Add a right-turn lane at Tahoe Keys Blvd and a designated left-turn lane at Sierra Boulevard to improve traffic operations.
- Widening of turn lanes at the Y to allow for six-foot bike lanes through the curves.

In conjunction with the City of South Lake Tahoe, Sierra Boulevard changes will include two-left turn lanes going onto Highway 50 and relocation of the current crosswalk to the opposite side.

In preparation for this three-year long project, utilities were relocated along Highway 50 during the past two summers.

Clark Peri, Caltrans Project Manager for this US50 work, answered questions from the audience which was made up mostly of bicycle enthusiasts and advocates.

"Its great we're finally getting this done," said Curtis Fong, CEO of TGFT Productions, LLC which directs Lake Tahoe's America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride and Tour de Tahoe. He addressed two concerns to Peri, one concerning construction during both of this biking events as well as the women's Amgen tour, and the other about cyclist safety through the construction zone.

There will be no torn up roads during Amgen which is May 11-12, and the other rides Fong produces are on Sundays when there is no construction. The road will be covered by paving on weekends.

Caltrans will put up signage to alert drivers that bicycles will be sharing the road though the construction, and also signage to steer cyclists off of Highway 50 onto a detour route north of Highway 50. Input from the audience prompted Caltrans to add more signage at the Y to direct cyclists to Dunlap Street and Eloise to bypass construction.

The contractor for the project was at the meeting to hear concerns as well, and people were promised that there is nothing set in stone for how traffic will flow during construction, and things can be adjusted to address safety concerns should they arise.

Beside bicycle safety through construction zones, the other hot topic Wednesday night was the addition of a new traffic light at Lodi Avenue. A traffic study had shown this was the best spot to place a light for both pedestrian safety and traffic flow so they can synchronize the lights from the Y to Al Tahoe Blvd. Too much of a distance between lights will create a "platoon affect" that creates backup and disrupts the synchronization.

New striping will be using on completed bike lanes, something that is the new required standard for snow areas of California. Methyl methacrylate (MMA) will last longer and be more visible during inclement conditions and darkness.

Work Schedule:

May 1 - October, 2017: From 50/89 Y to Winnemucca Avenue
May 1 - October, 2018: From Winnemucca Avenue to Sierra Blvd.
May 1 - October, 2019: From Sierra Blvd. to Trout Creek Bridge

Memorial Day to Labor Day
Monday through Thursday:
8:00 a.m.to 8:00 p.m. Two lanes open in each direction (Left turn-lane can be used as a traffic lane which allows for the closure of the outside lane and shoulder in one direction for daytime operations. When traffic is shifted this way, left turns will be restricted)
8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. One lane open in each direction
Friday 8:00 a.m. to Sunday midnight, No closures are allowed.

Labor Day to Memorial Day
Sunday midnight to Friday 11:00 a.m. - One lane open in each direction.
Friday 11:00 a.m. to Sunday midnight - No closures are allowed.

All South Lake Tahoe businesses are encouraged to list their business on the TahoeRoads.com website's portion called Open-4-Business. Fill out an advertising form here: http://tahoeroads.com/Open-4-Business/.

South Tahoe Now will be posting construction updates throughout the project.