District: District 3 - Marysville
Contact: Steve Nelson (Caltrans District 3), Carla Hass (El Dorado County)
Phone: (530) 701-9459, (916) 293-2046
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Camino – Caltrans District 3 and the El Dorado County Department of Transportation are notifying the traveling public that the closure of Carson Road within the ongoing U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) Camino Safety Project is being extended due to a utility conflict.
Carson Road between Robindale Drive and Carson Court was scheduled to be closed from July 18 to July 29 but now is expected to remain closed for an additional seven days or longer after the discovery of a Comcast cable that was not relocated deep enough. The Comcast cable will need to be lowered as much as 3 feet.
The full closure of Carson Road is minimizing long-term staging disruptions and will significantly expedite the work to reconstruct Carson Road and Carson Court, which will connect to the new Pondorado Undercrossing being built.
Eastbound US 50 motorists seeking access to Carson Road during the closure will be detoured to 8 Mile Road/Cedar Grove (Exit 54). Westbound US 50 motorists can exit at “upper” Carson Road or “lower” Carson Road (see detour map).
This $55.4 million safety project consists of constructing a continuous 56-inch-high concrete median barrier on a three-mile stretch of US 50 from Still Meadows Road to Carson Road that will restrict left turns at all at-grade intersections, building an undercrossing that will provide a safe way for traffic to cross US 50, improving drainage, replacing two El Dorado Irrigation water lines, building a wildlife undercrossing, repaving the highway, and improvements to county roads that includes a roundabout to connect to the new undercrossing.
The US 50 intersection at Camino Heights Drive is scheduled to remain open to left turns until the undercrossing is open to traffic, which is expected sometime in late August. There will be two access points for emergency responders needing to cross the highway after the project is completed. The construction schedule is subject to change based on weather, the availability of crews and equipment or other unexpected events.
This segment of US 50 has experienced an above-average number of crashes, including five fatalities over the past 10 years, and restricting left-turn movements onto or off US 50 will improve safety. Construction on the project started in June 2020 and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Caltrans has collaborated with the El Dorado County Department of Transportation, El Dorado Irrigation District and the El Dorado County Transportation Commission on the project, with the county providing $7.3 million in funding for local road improvements.
The project includes $3.4 million in funding from Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. SB 1 provides $5 billion in transportation funding annually split between the state and local agencies. Road projects progress through construction phases more quickly based on the availability of SB 1 funds, including projects that are partially funded by SB 1. For more information about other projects funded by SB 1, visit Rebuilding California.
Caltrans District 3 is responsible for 4,385 highway lane miles in 11 Sacramento Valley and Northern Sierra counties. The El Dorado County Department of Transportation is responsible for 1,083 centerline miles of roadway and 76 bridges.
For project updates, follow Caltrans District 3 on Twitter @CaltransDist3 and on Facebook at CaltransDistrict3. For real-time traffic, click on Caltrans’ QuickMap quickmap.dot.ca.gov/ or download the QuickMap app from the App Store or Google Play.
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