Road projects tangle traffic on Highway 50, Pioneer Trail

By Elaine Goodman / Tahoe Business Monitor
It will be double-trouble for South Lake Tahoe motorists over the next few weeks, as roadwork is expected to cause delays on the city's two main thoroughfares.
On Sept. 14, Caltrans began working around-the-clock on its $40.6 million Highway 50 project within the city. Crews are grinding and paving the road between Fremont Avenue and Trout Creek. Lane closures are planned between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., with traffic diverted to the eastbound lanes during paving of the westbound lanes, and vice versa. Motorists can expect up to 10-minute delays.

Roadwork will continue at night as well, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Work will wrap up for the season in early to mid-October. Lanes will reopen on weekends, although motorists may encounter rough pavement in some areas, said Caltrans spokeswoman Deanna Shoopman.

Meanwhile, Southwest Gas continues installation of a new gas line along Pioneer Trail. The project, which started in the spring and will continue through mid-October, requires intermittent one-way traffic controls. Work is taking place between Al Tahoe Boulevard and the state line area.

Caltrans' Highway 50 project and the Southwest Gas work are related. The Highway 50 project required the utility company to move its gas lines along Highway 50. Southwest Gas opted instead to install a new gas line along Pioneer Trail and abandon the one along Highway 50, according to Jim Marino, city of South Lake Tahoe capital improvement program manager.

The new 12-inch gas main is being installed by digging up and then repaving the road in some areas. In other places, the utility company's contractor is boring holes and pushing the gas line horizontally through the ground, said Marino, who reviewed the project's permit application.

The boring technique will be used in the state line area, where the gas line will be extended from the end of Pioneer Trail to Heavenly Village Way, and then across Highway 50 to Park Avenue. That work will take place at night, with preliminary digging to start in the next few days near the corner of Pioneer Trail and Highway 50.

The gas company completed portions of the project along Al Tahoe Boulevard and Johnson Road last year. Southwest Gas spokeswoman Cynthia Messina said the project will "reinforce and enhance" the company's system in the South Lake Tahoe area to provide safe and reliable service.

"We apologize for any inconvenience to the public," Messina said. "It's work that needs to be done. We're trying to do the work as efficiently as possible."