Construction of new phases of South Tahoe Greenway Shared-Use Trail underway
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Fri, 04/24/2020 - 1:41pm
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Work has begun on two phases of the 3.86-mile long South Tahoe Greenway Shared-Use Trail (Greenway) that will connect Sierra Boulevard in Tahoe Sierra Tract to the Van Sickle Bi-State Park near Stateline in South Lake Tahoe.
The project was approved in 2011 and 2016 and will provide users with a safe way to travel by non-motorized means off of the highway through the heart of South Lake Tahoe. The whole length will include neighborhood connectors and the ability to join the popular trail from the Y to past Baldwin Beach.
Phase 1b and 2 of the Greenway are scheduled for completion this year, 2020. El Dorado County is in charge of this portion along with the California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC). The County has hired a contractor who is already working on the project along Barbara Avenue and Bijou Community Park.
A portion of Barbara Avenue will be closed April 27 - October 15 for a construction staging area (See Here).
Phase 1a was completed in 2015 and extended a trail .42 miles between Herbert Avenue and Glenwood Way in the Bijou Neighborhood. In 2017 additional project drainage was infrastructure was constructed. That portion of the Greenway cost $921,230.
The new phase will start where 1a ended on Glenwood Way, go through Bijou Park, across Al Tahoe Boulevard, and join up with the existing trail by the Community Play Fields to Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC).
There will be a pre-fabricated steel truss bridge over Trout Creek as the trail comes from LTCC to Meadow Crest Drive by South Tahoe Public Utility District and over to Martin Avenue. An elevated concrete boardwalk will span the floodplain and connect with the bridge on both sides.
The new bike bridge over Trout Creek will improve local street crossings by taking bicyclists and pedestrians off the street and will add interpretive/wayfinding signage along the way. Current foot and bike travel at Black Bart Avenue and Martin Avenue at the current bridge can be dangerous.
$5,899,000 has been budgeted for these two new phases and is funded by grants including Caltrans via an Active Transportation Grant and the CTC.
To complete the Greenway, future phases will include Phases 1c, 3, and several neighborhood connectors. Future projects could extend the Greenway to Meyers. Plans and funding are still in the works.
