One lane of Highway 50 open at Echo Summit after rock slide, Caltrans says

Commuters going over the Sierra Nevada on Friday morning experienced major delays, as Highway 50 was closed at Echo Summit due to a rock slide.

Caltrans District 3 announced the closure just east of the summit around 6:15 a.m. The closure affects both eastbound and westbound lanes of traffic and there is no estimated time for full reopening. Caltrans officials said one lane was reopened to traffic by 2:30 p.m. after hours of work, which included blasting fallen boulders with explosive charges. Work will continue in the area and crews will be monitoring the site throughout the weekend.

The California Highway Patrol’s South Lake Tahoe Unit said that the slide occurred around 5:45 a.m. After the rock slide, a Toyota 4Runner crashed into the boulders, flipping onto its side in the process. Nobody was injured in the crash.

Alternate routes to Tahoe

Caltrans said drivers should seek out alternate routes. Officials at the California traffic and transportation agency said eastbound traffic out of Sacramento should consider taking Highway 16 east, then Highway 49 south and Highway 88 east. From there, you can take Highway 89 north to get back onto Highway 50. That is currently the most direct route to South Lake Tahoe that avoids the majority of Highway 50 altogether.

Caltrans recommends the same way back to Sacramento from South Lake Tahoe, although drivers could also divert back onto Highway 50 in the Placerville area via Highway 49 after reaching Jackson from Highway 88.

Alternatively, Sacramento drivers could take Interstate 80 east to Highway 89, then head south to South Lake Tahoe at Truckee, although that route is longer in terms of mileage and will likely take more time, too.

Caltrans warned that Johnson Pass Road, a short and narrow single-lane mountain pass that could potentially be used to quickly avoid the Echo Summit area of Highway 50, is closed.