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Video: Caltrans Performs Emergency Work to Reopen Highway 89

Published:

District: Headquarters
Contact: Tamie McGowen
Contact: Bob Highfill
Phone: (209) 986-9428

ALPINE COUNTY – The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is performing emergency work to install a temporary water passage (culvert) on State Route (SR) 89 near Markleeville, Alpine County, in an effort to reopen the highway following a devastating mudslide on August 3.

SR 89 currently is closed from Turtle Rock Park to SR 4 due to the mudslide and debris flow in the Tamarack Fire burn scar area that washed out a culvert at Millberry Creek, north of town.

Construction crews are working 12-hour shifts, seven days a week to install the new water passage and repair the road. Caltrans estimates it will be able to open both lanes in two to three weeks, although the timeline is subject to change due to traffic incidents, weather, the availability of equipment and/or materials, and other construction-related issues.

The emergency work also includes the construction of a temporary road for emergency responders only. The traveling public and pedestrians are not permitted to use the temporary road due to safety concerns.

Markleeville is open for business, and visitors can access the community via the SR 89 Monitor Pass and the SR 4 Ebbetts Pass.

Follow @CaltransDistrict10 on social media for updates. For road information, visit Quickmap.dot.ca.gov or download the app to your smartphone or device.

For the safety of workers and other motorists, please Be Work Zone Alert.

Caltrans News Flash #240

This News Flash is the 240th in a series of videos highlighting Caltrans’ activities that present the wide-ranging and critical work that Caltrans does to enhance California’s economy and livability. To see more of these and other videos, search for #CaltransNewsFlash on Twitter or visit the Caltrans News Flash page.

A backhoe on State Route 89 near Markleeville, California (about 30 miles south of Lake Tahoe) on the site of an emergency Caltrans project to clear mudslide debris so that the road can be reopened.
A backhoe on the site of an emergency Caltrans project to clear mudslide debris so that the road can be reopened.
Aerial view of an emergency Caltrans project to install drainage culverts on State Route 89 near Markleeville, California (about 30 miles south of Lake Tahoe) where the road is closed in both directions for approximately three miles due to a mudslide. On August 3, heavy rainfall in the area of the July 2021 Tamarack Fire burn scar caused the debris flow that washed out the road.
Aerial view of the emergency Caltrans project to install drainage culverts on State Route 89 near Markleeville, California near the burn scar of the July 2021 Tamarack Fire.
Caltrans highway workers on State Route 89 near Markleeville, California (about 30 miles south of Lake Tahoe) use heavy equipment during an emergency project to clear mudslide debris so that the road can be reopened.
Caltrans highway workers use heavy equipment on State Route 89 to prepare a portion of the three-mile road closure for reopening.