Caltrans

Hundreds of vehicles disobey parking rules along Echo Summit and Highway 50 each winter as they try to find a place to park so people can stop and play in the snow. Their parking on a highway is dangerous, and the California Highway Patrol is trying deter parking to encourage them to park where legal.

At the last count there were 82 homeless persons and ten homeless families living in South Lake Tahoe, and to help protect them during the winter, the Lake Tahoe Homeless Coalition has operated a Warm Room in the city.

They too are now homeless and asked the City Council on Tuesday to move into the city-owned building at 1195 Rufus Allen Boulevard, the former home of Unity at the Lake church.

As weather permits, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has scheduled projects at Lake Tahoe and in El Dorado County. The following are the projects for the week:

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is alerting motorists that lane and highway closures on area freeways will be required to replace three overhead changeable message signs with new “Advanced Variable Message Signs” or AVMS. The new signs will be installed in the following locations:
Interstate 80 westbound – Truckee – Donner Pass Road/Hwy 89
Interstate 80 westbound – Davis – Pole Line Road bridge
U.S. Highway 50 eastbound – El Dorado Hills – Latrobe Road

The following is California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) roadwork projects in the Lake Tahoe Basin and El Dorado County.

Note: Most traffic-interfering work will be limited from 6 a.m. Wednesday, November 22 through Sunday, November 26 because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

The following is the scheduled roadwork by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for roads on the California side of Lake Tahoe and in El Dorado County.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

Many people in Meyers and South Lake Tahoe heard "loud booms" early Tuesday afternoon. Those who have lived through winter recognized the sound as avalanche control cannons, but with no snow the reasons weren't clear.

Here is the story:

California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) was installing new cannons to replace the 25-year-old equipment on Flagpole Mountain, home to the Echo Summit avalanche control operations.

The updated Sierra Boulevard Complete Streets Project was presented to the community Thursday night, with changes incorporated after input from the public at their first meeting August 17, 2017.

Funded by grants, the .6 mile stretch of Sierra Boulevard starting at Highway 50 will have Class 1 and Class 2 bike lanes, parallel parking spots, reduced lane size, lighted sidewalks, underground utilities, landscaping, crosswalks and water quality improvements.

Higher fuel taxes are set to start November 1, 2017, raising the base gasoline excise tax from 18 cents to 30 cents per gallon. Senate Bill 1 was signed into law by California Jerry Brown and contains other increases that will cover the state's transportation needs for the next ten years with an extra $52 billion in revenue.

Other funds are coming from a new transportation improvement fee based on vehicle value, and paying off past transportation loans, Caltrans savings, and new charges on diesel fuel and zero-emission vehicles.

Several sections of North Lake Tahoe highways are scheduled to be worked on over the next nine days, beginning Thursday in Tahoe City.

Grinding and paving work on Highway 28 at the Tahoe City “Wye” is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, requiring reversing one-way traffic control on both Highways 28 and 89 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

On Saturday, the contractor, Martin Brothers, will be working on Highway 267 in Kings Beach. There will be one-way traffic control there as well from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with up to 20-minute delays.

The heartbreaking fires in Northern California’s wine country this month have upended hundreds of thousands of people’s lives. In just over one week, the fires across Northern California burned more than 220,000 acres, destroyed 6,000 buildings, and killed more than 40 people. Our hearts go out to our neighbors in Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties.

The following is a list of Caltrans projects for the following week in Lake Tahoe.

SPECIAL EVENT

State Route 89 (El Dorado County) will be closed to vehicle traffic in each direction around Emerald Bay from approximately 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Sunday, October 15 during the Lake Tahoe Marathon. Motorists should be aware of runners along the highway from Homewood to South Lake Tahoe. For more information on all the events from October 13-15, visit www.laketahoemarathon.com/

EMERGENCY PROJECTS

With the clearing out of the construction staging area at the corner of Fox Street and Highway 28 in Kings Beach, the end of an era for the revitalization of Kings Beach comes to a close.

Officials at Placer County today thanks everyone who shared their input and helped make this project a big success, and for patience with the inconveniences that road construction projects bring.

Items completed this season include:

Caltrans will be working on Lake Tahoe area roads as long as weather allows. Here is their schedule for the week of October 1-7, 2017.

EMERGENCY PROJECTS

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County) from Forest Road to the PG&E canal in Fresh Pond: The highway is reduced to one lane in each direction at Bridal Veil Falls roadway repair work. Completion is expected in late fall.

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County): The highway is reduced to one lane in each direction at Bridal Veil Falls roadway repair work. Completion is expected in late fall.

Caltrans is alerting motorists traveling on westbound Interstate 80 of the planned closure of Exit 184 from westbound I-80 to Donner Pass Road from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, September 26 – 27 for emergency pavement repairs. The on-ramp to westbound I-80 from Donner Pass Road will remain open. Motorists can continue on westbound I-80 to the next exit at Donner Lake Road to reverse direction and access Donner Pass Road from eastbound Interstate 80.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The California Tahoe Conservancy Board yesterday awarded up to $3,359,081 in Proposition 1 funds for eight projects to improve the Lake Tahoe Basin’s forests, lake clarity, and water quality.

The following is the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) roadwork schedule for the Lake Tahoe area.

EMERGENCY PROJECTS

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County) from Forest Road to the El Dorado Ditch in Fresh Pond: Westbound motorists can expect #2 lane closed for pavement repair. Completion is expected by the end of October.

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County): The highway is reduced to one lane in each direction at Bridal Veil Falls for slope and roadway repair work. Completion is expected by the end of this year.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

Work has begun on a stretch of State Highway 89 near Emerald Bay to replace a retaining wall and the extend an existing barrier slab and rail.

The contractor, Stewart Engineering, Inc. has established a staging area at the Eagle Falls parking area on the southbound side of the road. Visitors to the area should note that most, if not all, of the parking spots will be blocked by equipment.

Caltrans said work will take place Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. There will be reversing one-way traffic control so motorists should expect delays of up to 20 minutes.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE - A local woman was injured Saturday afternoon and she crashed her van into the light signal at the corner of Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Takela Drive.

The unidentified woman was transported to Barton Hospital with serious injuries.

A traffic signal was knocked off the pole, leaving it dangling over Lake Tahoe Blvd. Caltrans is on their way to South Lake Tahoe from Sacramento to fix the light.

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.

The following is a list of the Caltrans projects in the Lake Tahoe Basin for the week.

EMERGENCY PROJECT

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County): The highway is reduced to one lane in each direction at Bridal Veil Falls for slope and roadway repair work. Completion is expected by the end of the year.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

The following is the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) roadwork schedule for the Lake Tahoe area.

EMERGENCY PROJECT

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.

SPECIAL EVENT

State Route 89 (El Dorado County) at the Sugar Pine State Park entrance: Motorists can expect intermittent traffic control Saturday during the Lake Tahoe Triathlon.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

Caltrans is alerting motorists traveling through the Truckee area that the on ramp from southbound Highway 89 to eastbound Interstate 80, as well as the off ramp from Interstate 80 to Central Truckee, will be closed from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, August 15 and Wednesday, August 16 for maintenance work.

The ramps sustained damage during the past winter’s storms. Preventing further erosion of the ramp’s pavement and shoulders will help mitigate damage anticipated from future winter storms.

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.