District: District 3 - Marysville
Contact: Steve Nelson
Phone: (530) 741-4566; (530) 701-9459
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EL DORADO COUNTY – A full closure of U.S. Highway 50 for the Echo Summit Sidehill Viaduct Replacement Project is being postponed until after Labor Day, Caltrans announced today. Construction has not progressed such that the bridge work requiring a full closure of Highway 50 could be completed by June 15.
A full closure of Highway 50 is not permitted between June 15 and Labor Day due to high traffic volumes expected during the peak summer season in South Lake Tahoe.
This $14.1 million project is replacing the existing bridge, which was built in 1939, with a structure that meets current seismic and safety standards. Construction started in May 2019. No traffic-interfering work on the project is anticipated now until sometime in August.
Requests for passes for local residents and businesses to use Johnson Pass Road as a detour around the work site also are suspended but will be made available again once closure dates are solidified later this summer.
For more information on the project, visit Way2Tahoe on Twitter @way2Tahoe or on Facebook.
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