Navigating through South Lake Tahoe road construction

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With three major road construction projects on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe this summer, both residents and visitors alike will have their patience put to the test as they navigate local roads.

Not only will CalTrans have three major projects on Highway 50 between Echo Summit and Al Tahoe Boulevard, but the City of South Lake Tahoe will have their own road projects going on at Sierra Boulevard and Gardner Mountain.

It truly will be a six-month-long "Road Construction Season."

The California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) held a public meeting in South Lake Tahoe Wednesday evening to inform locals of what they could expect at their bridge replacement at Echo Summit, the installation of a roundabout at SR89/US50 and the final year of their three-year-long Y to Trout Creek road rehabilitation/water quality project. Approximately 60 people attended.

The roundabout in Meyers is getting a lot of attention, mostly from people in the area who are asking "why?". CalTrans is adding it to the intersection of SR89 and US50 due to accidents in the area, something they must address due to safety standards. It was a roundabout or a traffic light and transportation officials felt the two-lane wide circle to move vehicles through was the best of the two choices.

This addition will look much like the one CalTrans placed in Truckee, but since it is at a "T" intersection they are adding a bypass lane on the outside for westbound traffic.

There was concern voiced at the meeting and many of their questions were answered. With a project start date coming in a few days, there aren't any changes that can be made. One issue was for fire engines and other public safety vehicles getting through the roundabout when congested or when they have a need for speed. CalTrans said the curbs of the project are designed for engines to go over them, just as they have in Truckee and cities across the state. The lanes are wide enough where cars could move over for engines in the case of Sunday traffic jams. The center will be monument-free and just landscaped, which could be driven over in case of emergencies as well.

Two people in the audience said they have experience with roundabouts in Colorado and Salt Lake City and had no issues with snow or ice, and they said drivers should find them easy to use.

The roundabout will also connect to the existing bike path.

For the next 6-8 weeks, motorists won't notice much delay during construction days. No flaggers will be working, just some lane shifts. For the final steps, there will be flaggers but the only work will be done at night, and not on weekends, so delays should be minimal. It is a 90-day project.

Contractor, Q & D of Sparks, Nevada will be working on both the roundabout and on the Echo Summit Sidehill Viaduct bridge replacement project. Caltrans said they'll use the same staging areas, equipment, and some personnel on both projects so they can time things to reduce the impact to motorists.

The bridge replacement will take about 200 working days but Q & D has a bonus coming if they get done earlier and are working on a 100 working day project plan. The exact timing of an 8-14 day closure on the summit is unknown at this time. If they get closer to a 100-day plane it will close this fall, if closer to the 200-day plan it will close in spring 2020.

Much of the work on the bridge will be done from underneath and motorist may not even notice except for the times they have to move people and equipment in. There will be some need for a crane and the road may close for a longer period than the normal lane delays of 10 minutes (when they institute a reversible lane closure).

CalTrans is advertising the road work on Echo Summit and will start the "Way2Go2Tahoe" website and campaign, giving travelers alternate routes during construction, especially during the closure.

When the road does close, Johnson Pass Road will be available via a permit to those who need to travel over Echo for work/home. CalTrans will issue those permits weeks ahead of the closure. For public safety purposes, fire and ambulances will be staged on each side of the closure when the time comes.

Work on this project is the same as the roundabout: 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. through May, then nights only 12:01 a.m. on Monday to 7:00 a.m. Friday with no weekend work. times within this frame will be adjusted if traffic warrants.

The third CalTrans project is the completion of their three-year Y to Trout Creek Project and they will be working on the last leg, starting at Silver Dollar Avenue. Crews will work during the day through May, then nights only during the summer (weekends excluded). Crews will utilize the middle turn lane as a lane of traffic with cones when possible. Some delays are possible.

The best way to succeed in traveling through these construction zones is, if you can't find another route, to be patient and plan on an extra 15-20 minutes in travel time. Utilize the "zipper method" and use both lanes before merging, then, like a zipper, one car from the right, one car from the left moves traffic through smoothly. Too often there are extra delays created when some cars refuse to let others in.

To keep in touch on all road work, South Tahoe Now will keep readers posted as well as the CalTrans website, www.TahoeRoads.com.