roadway

All of us living in this tourist town understand a simple truth: our infrastructure is burdened with more than it can handle. Specifically, our roads. Each year, millions of visitors drive to Tahoe to enjoy the natural beauty of our home, but the damage this causes to our roadways is a serious problem. We need help making our community safer for driving, walking, and biking.

The following report is from Caltrans on projects and activities on their roads in Lake Tahoe.

SPECIAL EVENT

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County) from 5 Mile Road to Carson Road in Camino: Eastbound motorists can expect the left turn lanes to be closed at 5 Mile Road, lower Carson Road and upper Carson Road from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, October 8 and Saturday October 14 for Apple Hill Season. Motorists will be directed to Exit 54/Cedar Grove to access Carson Road.

EMERGENCY PROJECTS

A 61-year-old man from Carson City has died from injuries sustained after being hit by a food truck in Carson City Friday morning.

The public has another opportunity to give feedback on the design of the U.S. 50/South Shore Community Revitalization Project on Thursday, October 5, 2017 at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Formerly known as the Loop Road Project, this one seeks to divert Highway 50 from its current location near the intersection with Pioneer Trail and move traffic behind Raleys and the casinos, then reuniting with the current location of Highway 50 in Stateline, Nevada with a roundabout.

A boat moving down the roadway without a trailer isn't a normal sight, but on Kingsbury Grade near Lake Tahoe that is exactly what happened Friday afternoon near Logging Road Lane and Ansaldo Acres Road.

At 2:13 p.m. September 22, a 2012 Ford F-150 pick-up pulling a trailer and ski boat was traveling eastbound when the driver of a 2013 Chevy Impala traveling westbound crossed over the double yellow lines around a curve, striking the rear of the pick-up. The Impala then struck the left side of the trailer.

The following is the roadwork schedule from Caltrans on Lake Tahoe area roads.

SPECIAL EVENT
State Routes 28 and 267 (Placer County): Motorists should be alert for increased road cyclists on sections of State Routes 28 and 267 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday during the “Stetina’s Sierra Prospect” cycling event. Remember to share the road and allow at least three feet of space. For race information, visit:https://www.sierraprospect.com/

EMERGENCY PROJECTS

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A 21-year-old California woman is facing charges after the car she was driving crashed into a tree in South Lake Tahoe early Sunday morning.

The suspect told officers she was driving her 2003 Mercedes on Pioneer Trail just before 1:30 a.m., east of Highway 50, when she veered to avoid an animal she said was in the roadway. She successfully avoided the undetermined animal but instead drove her car into a tree on the south side of the roadway.

Motorists can expect longer delays on the Highway 50 project in South Lake Tahoe starting at midnight tonight as increased lane restrictions go into place for the rest of the construction season.

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday, and around the clock until 11:00 a.m. Friday each week, Highway 50 (Lake Tahoe Boulevard) will be reduced to one lane in each direction from Dunlap Drive to Winnemucca Avenue to accommodate grinding and paving operations. Motorists can expect delays of up to 30 minutes.

Expect these lane restrictions to be in place until Friday, October 13.

Work on the $56 million Highway 50 project in South Lake Tahoe is suspended for the Labor Day weekend, but once the holiday traffic leaves drivers can expect longer delays when lane restrictions are increased.

Starting Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 12:01 a.m., contractor Security Paving Inc. may reduce the highway to one open lane iSn each direction around the clock until 11 a.m. on Fridays.

Beginning Sept. 10, work will be around the clock from midnight Sunday to 11 a.m. Friday each week, with weekends free of construction. Motorists can expect delays of up to 30 minutes.

UPDATE 9/3 9:00pm - 9,051 acres have now burned in the Slinkard Fire near Topaz Lake. It remains at 20 percent contained.

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UPDATE 9/2 2:45PM - The Slinkard Fire is burning in three counties and two states: Mono, Alpine and Douglas County in California and Nevada. It has consumed 7,881 acres since starting by lightning on August 29. Firefighters now have a containment line around 20 percent of the fire. It is located in Slinkard Valley, and on the west slope of Antelope Valley, west of Topaz Lake and eight miles north of Walker, Calif.

Two men were injured and hospitalized and one dog died after two hit-and-run incidents in Lake Tahoe on Monday, August 28, 2017.

The California Highway Patrol is looking for the driver of a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe Monday afternoon, leaving a man with serious injuries.

At 1:40 p.m., 58-year-old Larry D. Ferguson was riding east on McKinney Rubicon Springs Road in Tahoma when he was struck by a gray mid-sized SUV traveling west as he made a turn onto Bellevue Avenue.

State Route 28 has reopened this morning after an early morning accident involving a four-foot boulder.

One person was transported to the hospital with unknown injuries after their car was found on its side with the boulder near by. It is unclear at this time if the boulder hit the car as it rolled down or if it was already on the roadway.

The 5:53 a.m. accident took place three miles north of U.S. 50 on August 29.

A downed tree was also found next to the tree and boulder.

Both lanes on State Route 28 were closed for two hours after the crash but have since reopened.

A Las Vegas man died early Tuesday in a single vehicle rollover crash on Old US395 in the Washoe Valley just north of Bellevue Road.

At about 5:30 a.m. on August 22, 42-year-old Frederick Inman was headed north in his white Toyota pickup. The truck went off the roadway to the right and overturned.

Inman was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.

According to the Nevada Highway Patrol, impairment is suspected in this crash.

The City of South Lake Tahoe is creating a new design of Sierra Boulevard that will introduce Class 1 and Class 2 bike lanes, parallel parking spots, reduced lane size and lighted sidewalks. Called the Sierra Boulevard Complete Streets Project, work is expected to get underway on the .6 mile stretch of road in the summer of 2018, but not everyone is happy about it.

At the first of two community information meetings on Thursday night, City and NCE representatives gave an overview of the planned project, had a question and answer period and shared preliminary designs of Sierra Blvd.

ZEPHYR COVE, Nev. A sink hole appeared in the slow lane of westbound Highway 50 near Zephyr Cove on Friday, prompting closure of the roadway for much of the day. The hole, about three-feet wide, may have been created by erosion from a storm drain under the pavement.

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) plans to fill temporarily fill and repave the hole with roadway base and paving materials with the goal of reopening the lane for weekend travel.

Motorists can expect periodic lane closures through the coming weeks as the sinkhole is repaired.

Those traveling to and from Lake Tahoe this week may want to take note of traffic alerts on both Interstate 80 and Highway 50.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will be doing overnight Work to repair rough spots in the roadway Monday night through Friday morning. They will be doing grinding and paving work on U.S. Highway 50 on the section of the roadway that descends after Echo Summit into the Tahoe Basin.

An informational meeting and open house will be held on Wednesday, August 9 for Douglas County residents living in the Johnson Lane area to learn about a new drainage master plan. The meeting will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the C.V.I.C. Hall in Minden, Nev.

Truckee has it's own "Secret Garden," a lush valley full of rare carnivorous plants and threatened bird species that has been preserved and kept from the public for more than 100 years.

The Truckee Donner Land Trust and Nature Conservancy partnered together and bought over 1,200 acres in the Lower Carpenter Valley for $10.3 million, 600 acres that is so sensitive that initially the only access with be through guided tours. 637 acres were purchased last year and treat hikers and mountain bikers to Crabtree Canyon. The final 80-acre parcel is under contract for purchase by the partners.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will be working on the following road projects in the Lake Tahoe Basin between July 23-July 29, 2017.

EMERGENCY PROJECTS

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County): The highway is reduced to one lane in each direction at Bridal Veil Falls for slope repair work.

State Route 193 (El Dorado County): Motorists can expect a full closure of the highway from the junction with State Route 49 in Placerville to Chili Bar from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday for roadwork repairs. More information: http://bit.ly/2to2pbb

The Al Tahoe Safety and Mobility Enhancement Project, also known as the “Safe Routes to School” project will begin with striping bike lanes on Al Tahoe Blvd. beginning the week of July 17th. The pilot project will be the first step towards the full project planned for 2019. As part of the project Class 2 on street bike lanes and a Class 1 off street multi-use path will be added in conjunction with vehicle lane restriping. To test of the concept plan, the pilot project introduces the bike lanes now by reconfiguring two of the four vehicle travel lanes and keeping the 2 way center turn lane. .

EMERGENCY PROJECTS

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County): The highway is reduced to one lane in each direction at Bridal Veil Falls for slope repair work.

State Route 193 (El Dorado County): Motorists can expect signalized one-way traffic control about 1 mile north of the junction with State Route 49 in Placerville around the clock for slope repair work.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

A male pedestrian has died from injuries sustained in a hit and run crash in Minden early Saturday morning.

At 5:00 a.m. July 1, deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office responded to the area of Fremont Street and Johnson Lane for a possible injured person in the roadway.

Upon arrival, deputies found a male in the roadway with significant physical trauma from being hit by a vehicle. He succumbed to those injuries.

The Nevada Department of Transportation’s U.S. 50 Cave Rock tunnel extension project, which completed ahead of schedule last year, has been recognized with an America’s Transportation Award.

The award from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recognizes the project as the best transportation project under $25 million in the western states for enhancing community and quality of life. The award recognizes the project for enhancing traffic safety and mobility, as well as involving community stakeholders in the project.

EMERGENCY PROJECTS

State Route 89 (El Dorado County) from South Upper Truckee Road to Luther Pass: Motorists can expect one-way traffic control at various locations from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday for dead tree removal work.

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County): The highway is reduced to one lane in each direction at Bridal Veil Falls for slope repair work.