Caltrans projects to cause delays on South Shore

By Kathryn Reed

Highway 50 over Echo Summit will be reduced to one lane for much of next week to repair a retaining wall that was damaged June 14.

David Irwin, 52, of Rocklin was driving his big-rig down the summit into the Lake Tahoe Basin about 3:10pm Monday when his trailer took out a large swath of the rock wall.

The rock barrier on Echo Summit will be replaced next week. Photo/Kathryn Reed

California Highway Patrol Sgt. Dan Lopez said Irwin had a permit to be on the highway.

Most of this week the gap in the crumbled wall was left exposed without any markings. Now several orange cones are along the roadway not far from the top of the summit.

One-way controls will be in effect from 7am-5pm June 21-24 while Caltrans erects a new wall.

This project has nothing to with the more complicated and cumbersome project that is coming in May 2011 to replace that entire section of rock barrier with something more sturdy and taller.

The one-way control next week will continue farther down Highway 50. From Pioneer Trail to Lake Tahoe Airport expect delays all week from 7am-5pm as Caltrans repaves that section of road.

Click on schedule to find out about all of Caltrans’ projects in the Sierra for June 20-26.