Work underway on Al Tahoe Safety and Mobility Project in South Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - If you've been driving through town lately you've most likely noticed the road work on Al Tahoe Boulevard.

After a restriping/lane change pilot project in 2017 that reconfigured two of the four vehicle travel lanes and added buffered bike lanes on Al Tahoe Blvd., the rest of the project has now begun. The project has been years in the making through the planning, funding, public input, and permitting stages.

Southwest Gas is in the area first to replace their gas main. In 2017 they did work in the adjacent retail center that is home to Rite Aid and Ross. They put in the current sidewalks that leveraged as part of the project by the City.

Once they are completed with their portion, the summer-long work will include the construction of a Class I shared-use path and Class II bike lanes along Al Tahoe Boulevard in the vicinity of the South Tahoe Middle School between Johnson and Lake Tahoe Boulevards.

The Al Tahoe Safety and Mobility Project closes a .42 mile gap in non-motorized connectivity and provide safe travel between the existing Class I shared-use path on the north side of US 50 and the existing Class I shared-use path that begins at Johnson Boulevard near Lake Tahoe Community College (Al Tahoe Boulevard and Johnson Boulevard intersection). The Class I shared-use path will be 10 feet wide and, by definition, would be a shared-use path with an exclusive right-of-way for bicyclists and pedestrians, away from the roadway and with cross flows by motor traffic minimized. This will help the flow of students, recreationists and commuters along this stretch.

In addition, the Class II bike lane will be constructed on both sides of Al Tahoe Blvd. Lighting for the full length of the path is included in the project to provide safe routes to school that includes intersection improvements.

While the City of South Lake Tahoe is the lead on the project and is contributing roughly 13 percent in funding for the project, this project would not have come to fruition without the “On Your Way” grant funding from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. The majority of the planning, permitting, design and construction costs are covered by grant funding from the State of California and Caltrans through the Active Transportation Program (with funds from the Federal Highway Administration.

In 2019 the City of South Lake Tahoe finished the Sierra Boulevard project that brought improvements including Class I and II lanes, lighting, and landscaping to the Tahoe Sierra Tract.

The City was planning on starting the Lake Tahoe Boulevard Bike Trail project between the Y and Viking Way this year, but that is still in the design phase and construction will likely be 2021. This project will reduce the four lanes to two and add bike lanes, creating a safer path to South Tahoe High School and improved mobility for pedestrians and cyclists. Coming is a Class I bike trail, ADA compliant ramps, and streetlights along the 0.6-mile section.