Deemed one of the highest priorities of the city, the
Highway 50 project got a boost in funding support from Caltrans to start a
section of the first phase by May 2008.
The state agency, along with city Public Works Director John Greenhut, provided
a report Tuesday to the South Lake Tahoe City Council that identified $22.2
million in federal and state transportation funds to install curbs, gutters,
storm drains and a 6-foot-wide Class 2 bike lane alongside the thoroughfare
between Trout Creek and Lakeview Avenue. The section is due for completion in
November 2009.
The estimated $45 million project has the buy-in from a number of agencies and
organizations in town. Overall, the community has long requested movement in the
project that spans from the "Y" to Ski Run Boulevard. Caltrans also
came armed to the meeting with a timeline. The second phase is expected to start
in May 2010 and be completed by November 2011.
Before the meeting, only $12 million in funding had been found.
"We have a great deal of community pressure to this get done,"
Councilman John Upton said.
The project has been identified of critical importance because of the highway's
environmental impact. Oily sludge and slime pour out of the storm drains into
the lake at El Dorado Beach, one of the hotbeds for tourism activity in the
summer.
City Manager Dave Jinkens was pleased Caltrans had "saved the project"
in its funding exploration.
"I don't think it's too much to ask to fulfill the promise given to this
community," he told the council.
The only hitches are the city and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency would have to
come up with the money to fund landscaping and sidewalks. To that, David Kelly
of the Tahoe Coordinating Council for the Disabled asked Caltrans if it had ever
been sued for failure to install sidewalks. A Caltrans representative couldn't
say.
State offers funding for Highway 50 improvements
| Local News |
