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Public hearing set for $27 million Lake Tahoe bike path project

Staff report
This illustration shows what the path will look like, including a new pedestrian crosswalk, at the Lakeshore Boulevard intersection.
Courtesy NDOT |

If you go

What: Public hearing on East Shore Bike Trail

When: 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, April 26

Where: The Chateau, 955 Fairway Blvd., Incline Village

Learn more: nevadadot.com/SR28

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — Transportation officials will host a public hearing next week to discuss upcoming construction work on the shared-use bike and walking path on Highway 28 between Incline Village and Sand Harbor.

The “East Shore Bike Trail” — to be constructed over the next two to three years — will consist of a 10-foot-wide, three-mile paved path separate from 28, providing safe access along a dangerous stretch of roadway that often features motorists dodging cyclists and pedestrians.

According to the Nevada Department of Transportation, an underpass will be constructed beneath the highway to bring the path from the east to west side of the road near the Flume Trail.



“Two new parking areas will be constructed near the Ponderosa Ranch and Tunnel Creek Café, providing safer parking options for the almost 1 million recreationists who visit the area every year,” officials said in a news release.

Centerline rumble strips and emergency roadside turnouts will also be added to Highway 28, according to NDOT, along with water quality improvements such as roadside drainage inlets and sediment filtration systems.



The multi-use trail will start at the Lakeshore Drive intersection, expanding that road’s current bike path down to Sand Harbor, providing access to Hidden Beach, Memorial Point and other scenic vistas along the way.

The project will reportedly cost between $26 million and $27 million, according to the Tahoe Transportation District.

“More than two and a half million vehicles a year travel on State Route 28, mixing with as many as 2,000 pedestrian and bicyclists who park and recreate near the roadside and creating safety and accessibility concerns on the mountainous highway,” according to NDOT. “Nearly 107 crashes occurred in the area between 2006 and 2013; accounting for approximately 25 percent of crashes on State Route 28.

Thirteen agencies (including NDOT, TTD and the Incline Village General Improvement District) came together to plan the path, which is envisioned as the first step in a future Nevada Stateline-to-Stateline shared-use path connecting from the Nevada-California state line in Crystal Bay to the South Lake Tahoe casino core.

The public is invited to attend the April 26 open-format meeting at any time between 4 and 7 p.m. (a presentation is set for 5:30 p.m.) to discuss the project and provide comments.


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