South Lake Tahoe's $5.5M Sierra Boulevard project to start in 2019

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Sierra Boulevard Complete Streets project that was slated to begin as soon as the 2018 building season began is now scheduled for a May 1, 2019 start (or sooner if weather allows).

The delay was caused by requests through the grant process to evaluate dirt in the area to see if there were historical artifacts and some other time-consuming evaluations. Once those were completed and the final grant money awarded it was too late to start building in 2018.

The .6 mile stretch of road will receive Class 1 and Class 2 bike lanes, parallel parking spots, reduced lane size, lighted sidewalks, underground utilities, landscaping, crosswalks and water quality improvements.

Funding is coming from federal and state transportation grants, Surface Transportation block funding, Congestion Mitigation grants, greenhouse gas funding, Active Transportation funds along with some local funding and grant required matching funding. The total cost of the project will be $5.5 million to $5.75 million. Work for South Tahoe Public Utility District will be included in the project and they will reimburse the City for their portion.

The project is being advertised and the bids will be accepted starting October 11, 2018. The dates for the project are May 1 - October 15, 2019 but it could start earlier, weather permitting.

This will coincide will the final year of the Caltrans Highway 50 project which will include new turn lanes and crosswalks at the intersection of Sierra Blvd and Lake Tahoe Blvd. The Caltrans project will go to Palmira Street and the South Lake Tahoe Complete Streets project will go from Palmira to Barbara Avenue. The contractor for the Highway 50 project is possibly interested in bidding on the Sierra Boulevard project as well, making it easier to coordinate the work schedules near the intersection.

The City of South Lake Tahoe is working on a lease agreement with Caltrans on their snow storage yard to be used as a base of operations for the street project. Neighbors in the Tahoe Sierra Tract didn't want the trucks, equipment and supplies to be on Barbara Avenue which would cause extra dirt and noise in their neighborhood.