A Press Democrat Blog

Road Warrior

Trying to make sense out of getting around

Going to Tahoe? Take your chains

Thursday, at 9:50 by

It’s Memorial Day weekend; the traditional start of summer vacations. But if you’re driving to Lake Tahoe, take your chains. Yes, be prepared for snow. The National Weather Service issued a weather alert Thursday warning that an unseasonably cold low pressure system is going to hit the Sierra on Friday and will produce snow showers through Saturday morning. It’s forecasting several inches of snow above 7,000 feet in the Tahoe area and above 6,000 feet in northeastern California. At lake… Read More »

Highway 50 reopens early

Sunday, at 7:31 by

Caltrans on Saturday reopened Highway 50 four days early after being closed for nine full days for construction at Echo Summit, but some traffic delays still are expected for several weeks. The $1.9 million project is from the Caltrans Echo Summit maintenance station east 1.2 miles to Johnson Pass Road and replaces a deteriorating 18-inch tall rock wall with a 32-inch tall concrete barrier designed to look like a rock wall. In addition, crews are replacing storm culverts, guard rails… Read More »

Hwy. 50 to Tahoe closed for 2 weeks

Wednesday, at 10:47 by

Going to South Lake Tahoe? Get ready for the detour. At noon today, Caltrans closed Highway 50 for about two weeks to allow crews to replace 72-year-old rock walls at Echo Summit. Traffic going to South Lake Tahoe will be detoured east of Sacramento onto Highway 16 to Highway 49 to Jackson to Highway 88 to Highway 89, adding about 35 miles to the trip. You also can go to Placerville and then south on 49 to 88, but that’ll… Read More »