Caltrans to start emergency roadwork on US50 and SR89

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. – Two emergency contracts are in place to repair sections of U.S. Highway 50 and State Highway 89 that were damaged during the devastating Caldor Fire that has burned nearly 222,000 acres of the Eldorado National Forest and land in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

Work along the highways will include hazardous tree and debris removal; rockfall protection; cleaning culverts, catch basins and drainage ditches; guardrail replacement; pavement repairs, and erosion control.

Motorists should expect daytime traffic controls on Highway 50 at multiple locations from White Hall to Meyers and on a two-mile stretch of Highway 89 in Christmas Valley (see map above). The estimated cost of the repair work is $51.6 million. The speed limit in the construction areas has been reduced to 45 mph.

“Caltrans is committed to ensuring these highways are safe for the traveling public, thousands of which use Highway 50 and Highway 89 to go to and from the South Lake Tahoe area every year,” said Caltrans District 3 Director Amarjeet S. Benipal. “We understand the inconvenience of construction delays, and we appreciate motorists’ patience as we perform these critical repairs.”

Doug Veerkamp General Engineering Inc. and Granite Construction will be performing the repair work.

Director Benipal expressed his appreciation for the all the agencies that responded to the fire, which started August 14 and caused a full closure of Highway 50 for 30 days.

“These men and women worked tirelessly under very challenging conditions,” Benipal said. “We’re certainly grateful for their efforts. Because of their hard work, our work can now begin to repair the highway infrastructure.”

Caltrans’ maintenance yards in Kyburz and Meyers had to be evacuated, but the crews continued to patrol the highways in a support role, manned the highway closures along with the Placerville yard and staffed the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at Harrah’s Tahoe in Nevada. The casino was closed to the public but agreed to remain open for emergency responders. Much of the food for responders was donated by South Lake Tahoe restaurants and grocery stores that were shut down during the evacuation of the city.

Benipal also recognized the quick response of Caltrans’ Damage Assessment Team, which was tasked with identifying the needed repairs to the highway infrastructure. Work on the repairs is expected to take several months and may be delayed due to weather.