El Dorado County Transportation Digest

Ebbetts Pass on Highway 4 in Alpine County reopened Thursday, according to the California Department of Transportation. CalTrans is working to clear Sonora and Tioga passes still.

City Council approved the Heavenly Neighborhood Parking and Traffic Management Plan, which will focus on mitigating traffic caused by Heavenly Mountain Resort.

The California Trolley and Railroad Corporation of Santa Clara County has transferred ownership of a GE 65-ton center cab diesel locomotive to the El Dorado Western Railway Foundation of El Dorado County.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council heard multiple presentations, including an update on roadwork and an annual report from the department of public works.

A Latrobe Road project has been added back into the county’s Capital Improvement Program, three years after it was removed. The project will widen Latrobe Road between Investment Boulevard and Golden Foothill Parkway.

When El Dorado County closed the Rubicon Trail due to the atmospheric river storms, some users asked why. Resulting discussion led to a resolution that any closure should be for limited reasons and at the direction of the county’s transportation director.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has awarded $11.1 million to seven critical transportation projects across the Tahoe Region.

Asphalt pavement formulated with recycled plastic has successfully survived heavy truck traffic and the atmospheric rivers of the winter of 2022-23 after a section of California State Route 99 flooded in January.

A bipartisan congressional group from Nevada and California is asking the Biden administration to fast-track federal funds for a private company to build a high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.

Lake Link has recently expanded its micro-transit service area further into Nevada and now covers more of the residential areas near the state line in Douglas County.

After years of multi-modal project planning, a second roundabout will be constructed at the intersection on Highway 50 and Pioneer Trail in Meyers as soon as summer of 2024.

A years-long study looking into concerns regarding a stretch of Highway 49 between Cool and Auburn provides a list of potential fixes.

Snowplows have been deployed to reopen Highway 89, which has been closed on and off due to excess snow since Feb. 23.

Potholes on U.S. Highway 50 through South Lake Tahoe have nearly become trenches that span from one end of the city to the other.

Public transit is a lifeline for low-income Californians, and the key to realizing reduced carbon emissions. But the state’s major public transit agencies are facing myriad issues and are looking to state lawmakers for a solution.

In addition to renewing the current agreement with the South Shore Transportation Management Association, the South Lake Tahoe City Council committed $662,500 toward the expansion of the service.

“Unfortunately, the roadways have many potholes, including along Caltrans and county roads,” a recent press release states.

Early planning stages on the Trip to Green project have begun following the 2022 pilot program. A city workshop shared data collected from the test sessions and presented concepts for where to go next.

El Dorado County Supervisor Brooke Laine knows South Lake Tahoe area residents want to watch how Measure S money is spent, especially with roads crumbling in the basin.

After 30-plus years of planning, officials finally broke ground in September. El Dorado County Director of Transportation Rafael Martinez said this is the biggest capital project in county history.

After years of struggling to find solutions to congestion issues during high-traffic periods along Highway 50 in Placerville, the Trip to Green program was initiated in fall 2022.

The California Highway Patrol reminds the public to always remain alert and take caution when conducting private-party vehicle sale transactions.

Lake Link is forecasted to serve 120,000 people in its first year, said Raymond Suarez, project manager and executive director of South Shore Transit Management.

The law was prompted by an audit revealing that up to 35,000 parking placards in use were in the names of deceased people.

The Placerville City Council unanimously approved replacement of the Placerville Drive bridge over Hangtown Creek at an estimated cost of $10,423,800. The project is fully funded through the federal Highway Bridge Program.

The Lake Tahoe Airport will raise its landing fees for visitors, following approval from the South Lake Tahoe City Council during its Nov. 15 meeting.

The Sacramento Area Council of Governments shared with El Dorado County for building a more connected region. The plan will be finalized in 2024.

The first phase of maintenance gets under way this week as crews clear and clean the road, as well as fix potholes to prepare for treatment. “The major repair and resurfacing won’t happen till the first week of October,” shared County Director of Transportation Rafael Martinez.

Speeding, reckless driving, and highway violence have all increased in Tahoe/Truckee in recent years, as more people move to the area and drivers increase their speeds.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council approved a pilot traffic calming project in the Lakeview (Al Tahoe) and Highland Woods neighborhoods, where residents have complained about visitors cutting throughs, speeding and illegally parking.

The city of South Lake Tahoe has hired a new airport manager. John Dickinson has more than 14 years of experience with airport operations and planning, including 10 years in the US Navy as an air traffic controller.

The proposed roundabout at the Bridlewood Drive and Bass Lake Road intersection has been allocated $744,400 by the El Dorado County Transportation Commission, which will just cover environmental studies and the design. The project has yet to be approved.