TRUCKEE, Calif. — Truckee Donner Public Utility District will soon restart construction on the Pioneer Trail pipeline and pump station which will require the closure of the Trout Creek Trail.. 

This project began in September 2022, and will result in a new water pipeline and pump station to serve the Tahoe Donner area. This project is critical to the health of the community’s water service, and it will strengthen the reliability of TDPUD’s water delivery system, the district said in a press release.

The district and the project contractor, C&D Contractors, Inc., have spent a lot of time figuring out the best way to approach this project in order to complete the work in this year’s shortened construction season, while also being mindful of the community’s use of this trail and attempting to have the least amount of impact during peak periods. 

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Given this year’s big winter, crews have been delayed on starting the project until after Memorial Day, and the work that remains on the project will take a few months. Recognizing that closing the trail during the height of the summer would be detrimental to the lives of many of our residents and visitors, TDPUD has worked out an accommodating solution. 

The trail will close from approximately May 30-June 30, then reopen for July 4 weekend and remain open through Labor Day. It will then close again until work is finished in the fall. This plan balances the needs of the community with the needs of the utility, and will allow for the project to be completed without cutting off access to the trail during its busiest time of use.

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During the closure, the Trout Creek Trail will be closed to all access from the trailhead at Northwoods Boulevard, to about a half mile east of the Trout Creek Bridge. While a section of the trail starting from the trailhead in Downtown Truckee will remain open, the trail will not be passable from end to end. Access from Downtown Truckee to the Pioneer Commerce Center will remain unaffected.

The Pioneer Trail Pipeline Project involves the construction of a new water pipeline and a new pump station to serve the Tahoe Donner subdivision. The new pipeline will connect existing water piping on Northwoods Boulevard to a new pump station located to the southwest of the intersection of Pioneer Trail and Comstock Drive. This project will improve TDPUD’s capacity and resiliency in providing potable water and fire flow into Tahoe Donner. 

Four fire hydrants will also be added to the Trout Creek Trail area. TDPUD will also be installing $1 million of new primary power and communications conduits in a joint trench along with the water pipeline for future network build out. TDPUD also plans to repave the full width of the trail in areas that are disturbed by construction. 

For more information, visit tdpud.org/pioneerpipeline.