El Dorado County officials have declared "unacceptable" a proposed Highway 50 detour that would bypass El Dorado County and add 90 minutes to the trip from Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe.
The closure of Highway 50 over Echo Summit is planned for May 2011, but Ken Menkveld, project engineer with the state Department of Transportation, said a detour must be identified within a couple of months. The contract for the project, to replace parapets that serve as barrier rails over the summit, is to be awarded late this year.
Caltrans proposes to close that section of highway for up to 24 days. Menkveld told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that the contract would include an incentive of up to $1 million for early completion.
Motorists traveling from Sacramento would be advised to detour to Highway 16 west of Watt Avenue, then to Highways 49, 88 and 89, returning to Highway 50, east of the summit.
"That plan won't work," said Supervisor Jack Sweeney. "If it does, it will be devastating to the county. We can't have that."
Menkveld, said the alternative to a full closure would be to keep one lane open. But that could result in traffic delays of up to 45 minutes and would require spreading the work over three construction seasons.
Supervisor Norma Santiago said South Lake Tahoe business and civic leaders favor the full closure, with completion before the Memorial Day weekend and the beginning of the summer tourist season.
The supervisors argued that Mormon Emigrant Trail would be a more logical detour. Also known as Iron Mountain Road, it runs through national forest lands south of Highway 50 between Pollock Pines and Highway 88. It has been used in the past as a detour, when landslides closed Highway 50.
Menkveld said that option would add about $3 million to the cost of the project, because Caltrans would be responsible for snow removal, installing signs, striping the road and possibly repaving it.
The supervisors, however, called for further discussions between Caltrans and U.S. Forest Service representatives regarding use of Mormon Emigrant Trail.
Some people also suggested scheduling the project in late summer or early fall, when snow removal would not be an issue.
