Then and (not) now: Public says no to Emerald Bay bridge

Caltrans once planned to put a bridge in at Emerald Bay. Photo/Bill Kingman/Circa 1960

In the late 1950s, Caltrans presented various plans for a bridge across the entrance to Emerald Bay and rerouting Highway 89.

What Emerald Bay looks like today via Google.

Strong public opposition prevailed, and that idea was dropped in the 1960s. This was prior to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s formation.

In the same time period, film manufacturer and processor Eastman Kodak declared that Emerald Bay was one most-photographed location in the world, second only to the Taj Mahal in Agra, India.

— Bill Kingman