District: District 3 - Marysville
Contact: Steve Nelson
Phone: (530) 701-5209
For Immediate Release
Camino – Caltrans is alerting motorists of extended lane reductions on a section of U.S. Highway 50 in the Camino area of El Dorado County as part of an ongoing safety improvement project.
Highway 50 will continue to be reduced to one lane in each direction from Sunday night, July 18 to Thursday night, July 23 and reopen to two lanes over the weekend. Starting the following Sunday, July 25, Highway 50 will be reduced to one lane in each direction for up to 20 consecutive days to accommodate construction of a wildlife undercrossing as part of the $55 million project.
The project also involves installing a continuous concrete median barrier from Still Meadow Road to upper Carson Road that will restrict left-turn movements at at-grade intersections. A new undercrossing is being built to provide access north and south of the highway. The project also includes drainage improvements. Work started in August of 2020 and is expected to be completed by next fall.
The contractor, Security Paving, Inc., will start setting up the closure area Sunday night between Point View Drive and Camino Heights Drive (intersection will remain open), and then begin shoring in the median to support the roadway in order to begin excavation work to install the wildlife undercrossing’s precast concrete box culverts.
The 40,000-pound box culverts (18 sections) will be placed in two stages starting on the south side of the highway, and installation of the 109-foot wildlife undercrossing is expected to be completed by August 14.
The lane reductions will include weekend work, and motorists may experience delays of up to 30 minutes. The heaviest traffic days are expected to be eastbound 50 on Fridays and Saturdays and westbound 50 on Sundays as motorists travel to and return from the South Lake Tahoe area.
Caltrans is partnering with the El Dorado County Department of Transportation on this project and the county is providing $7.3 million in funding for local road improvements. Completion is expected in fall 2022.
Caltrans reminds motorists to “Be Work Zone Alert” and slow in construction zones for the safety of travelers and work crews. Weather or unexpected events may delay or prolong the work. The department will issue updates on Twitter @CaltransDist3 and on www.facebook.com/CaltransDistrict3/
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