NDOT projects at Lake Tahoe will soon wrap up for season

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) will be wrapping up their two major Lake Tahoe projects for the season over the coming weeks. Crews are working diligently to complete all that they can this construction season before heavy winter weather sets in and makes construction infeasible. Both projects will return with construction next spring.

U.S. 50 Logan Creek Slope Stabilization Project
The Nevada Department of Transportation will soon wrap up this season’s construction to reinforce a destabilized roadside slope on U.S. 50 near Cave Rock at Lake Tahoe. Final construction will resume in the spring. The roadway will reopen to two lanes in each direction as soon as this season’s construction is completed.

This past winter, numerous boulders the size of large passenger vehicles fell from a roadside slope onto eastbound travel lanes of U.S. 50 near Logan Creek Drive north of Cave Rock. This summer, NDOT began construction of a roadside wall to reinforce and encase the approximately 60-foot high slope and help prevent future erosion. Anchor bars were drilled into the slope to secure heavy-duty mesh. The mesh was then covered with more than 1,000 yards of thick sprayable “shotcrete” concrete to create what is called a soil nail wall.

Motorists should anticipate lanes being reduced back to one lane in each direction next spring as construction crews return to apply the final aesthetic layer of concrete and finalize repairs to roadway surface and curbing damaged by the boulders. The concrete will be hand-sculpted to match colors and textures of nearby natural roadside slopes. The approximately $5 million project by contractor Road and Highway Builders will enhance safety for the more than 13,000 motorists who drive the road daily.

With traffic safety as top priority, NDOT has dedicated approximately $15 million over past years to enhancing traffic safety by stabilizing roadside slopes to reduce rockslide and other erosion on U.S. 50 at Tahoe. The majority of U.S. 50 roadside slopes in the Glenbrook area have already been stabilized with rock fall netting or reinforced roadside slopes or have barrier rail/wall built at the bottom to contain and collect erosion-related rock fall. Last year, NDOT also extended the westbound, lakeside Cave Rock tunnel entrance to enhance safety by catching rock fall before it reaches the roadway.

State Route 28 Shared Use Path, Water Quality and Safety Improvement Project
Construction on the State Route 28 Shared Use Path, Water Quality and Safety Improvement Project is also wrapping up for the season. A scheduled third construction season will begin next spring.

The single lane closures in place through the summer will be removed by late November.

This season, the entire length of path between Memorial Point and Sand Harbor was constructed and major earthwork and removal of large boulders completed to carve other areas of future path. Walls were installed to reinforce pathway slopes. Pathway bridge installation also began and utility, traffic safety, sewer line and water quality enhancements were made.

The approximately $36 million project by Granite Construction will construct a three-plus mile shared-use path from the south end of Incline Village to Sand Harbor State Park, along with centerline rumble strips and emergency roadside turnouts for safety. Water quality improvements such as enhanced roadside drainage inlets, sediment filtration systems and erosion control measures will also be made. The additional pathway and parking areas constructed as part of the project will enhance safety and mobility for the more than 2.5 million drivers a year who travel on State Route 28 every year, as well as the up to 2,000 pedestrians and bicyclists who park and recreate near the roadside on peak days. Completion of the pathway is anticipated for the end of 2018, but may extend into 2019 depending on future weather impacts.

With the pathway still under construction, the majority of beach and trail access between Lakeshore Boulevard and Sand Harbor State Park, as well as the Memorial Point parking lot and restroom, will remain closed through the winter. Recreationists are encouraged to access beaches and trails through designated recreation and parking areas off of the roadside.

Project information is available at www.nevadadot.com/SR28 or by calling (775) 888-7000.