Highway 50 Closed In Sierra Until Memorial Day
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (CBS13) -- Highway 50, a major corridor through the Sierra, is now closed for two weeks while crews repair a rock wall.
Just after noon, travelers were being directed off eastbound Highway 50 in Placerville and rerouted south along Highway 49. Drivers now have to climb the western slope of the Sierra along Highway 88 before heading to South Lake Tahoe on Highway 89.
The road work will replace 7 walls that make up a mile-long rock barrier along Echo Summit that has been in place since the 1930s and no longer meets safety standards. A concrete barrier will be installed in its place.
Drivers along Highway 50 have already been suffering under the preliminary road work, which has reduced traffic to a single lane over the past few days.
Crews hope to reopen the road by Memorial Day, but traffic will be restricted for at least six weeks.
