Construction on Echo Summit stopped for holiday weekend

Updated: July 1 12:50pm

Construction crews are taking a break from working on Echo Summit from July 1-5 so locals and tourists can travel to and from the South Shore without delays.

Most of the work to replace the crumbling rock wall has been completed. When work resumes July 6 at 7am it will be to replace the guardrail. After the long weekend the hours for work on the guardrail are July 6 7am-5pm, July 7 7am-2pm and July 8 7-10am.

The rock wall on Echo Summit meets safety regulations. Photos/Kathryn Reed

On July 11 work will go on all week starting at 7am and ending no latter than 5pm; with the road open without controls by 10am that Friday.

Damaged guardrails on Highway 50 will be replaced next week.

The wall needs to be painted as well. This includes painting the grout lines.

“Each has to be hand painted. We want it to look good,” Deanna Shoopman, Caltrans spokeswoman, told Lake Tahoe News.

The coloring will be like the color of the rock so it blends in. The painting is a protective coating.

The other component to the project is to install a weather station in an area that is not visible to drivers. The parts have been delayed and are not expected to arrive until Aug. 15.

— Kathryn Reed