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A survey crew on Tuesday works the site of a multi-use path to go in along Lyons Avenue in South Lake Tahoe. Dan Thrift /Tahoe Daily Tribune
Project slated for Rufus Allen Boulevard and Lyons Avenue
By Gregory Crofton
Tribune staff writer
A $430,000 construction project that starts today will put a sidewalk at the south end of Rufus Allen Boulevard and a multi-use path on Lyons Avenue.
By Gregory Crofton
Tribune staff writer
A $430,000 construction project that starts today will put a sidewalk at the south end of Rufus Allen Boulevard and a multi-use path on Lyons Avenue.
The work - to include installation of 700 feet of sidewalk on the west side of Rufus Allen and 1,000 feet of multi-use path on the west side of Lyons - will require sections of both roads to be closed temporarily until the project is completed Oct. 15.
The bulk of the construction is being funded by a $356,000 "Safe Routes to School" grant from the federal government.
But Lake Tahoe Unified School District also provided $41,000 and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency contributed more than $30,000 in water quality funds to get the job done, said Jason Dukes, assistant engineer for South Lake Tahoe.
The project is going forward despite the closure of Al Tahoe Elementary, one of three schools in the area to benefit from federal grant money.
The bulk of the construction is being funded by a $356,000 "Safe Routes to School" grant from the federal government.
But Lake Tahoe Unified School District also provided $41,000 and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency contributed more than $30,000 in water quality funds to get the job done, said Jason Dukes, assistant engineer for South Lake Tahoe.
The project is going forward despite the closure of Al Tahoe Elementary, one of three schools in the area to benefit from federal grant money.
"We still believe there will be a high volume of student-pedestrian traffic as a result of the middle school population and also the potential growth of the Boys & Girls Club," said Steve Morales, facilities manager for the Lake Tahoe Unified School District. "Additionally, the district has not ruled out opening (Al Tahoe) in the future if enrollment called for it."
The project will also improve water quality, access to ballfields in the area and access to the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center and Ice Arena. In addition, a crosswalk slated to go in at the intersection of Rufus Allen and Lyons is designed to make the area safer.
"Right now its a funky little loop corner," Dukes said. "We're going to clean that up and make more of a "T" intersection that allows us to make a safer crossing."
The principal at St. Theresa Catholic School said older children with permission from their parents to walk from school to the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center may benefit from the new walkways, but that's not a large number of people.
The project will also improve water quality, access to ballfields in the area and access to the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center and Ice Arena. In addition, a crosswalk slated to go in at the intersection of Rufus Allen and Lyons is designed to make the area safer.
"Right now its a funky little loop corner," Dukes said. "We're going to clean that up and make more of a "T" intersection that allows us to make a safer crossing."
The principal at St. Theresa Catholic School said older children with permission from their parents to walk from school to the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center may benefit from the new walkways, but that's not a large number of people.
"Pretty much all our kids are carpooled," said Danette Winslow, principal of St. Theresa Catholic School. "We are losing all the parking across the street. That will affect us."
The parking lot next to the softball diamond at South Tahoe Middle School will be closed during construction. It will reopen once the project is completed, Dukes said.
Funding for the project is being provided in part by the TRPA, a bistate organization established to protect the lake, because the improvements include two stormwater detention ponds off Lyons, infiltration trenches and gutters to transport stormwater to storm drains.
The city aimed to get the project finished before school started, but permits took more than four months to obtain when they normally take three, Dukes said. If the project is not built this year, the city loses the federal grant.
- Gregory Crofton can be reached at (530) 542-8045 or by e-mail at gcrofton@tahoedailytribune.com
The parking lot next to the softball diamond at South Tahoe Middle School will be closed during construction. It will reopen once the project is completed, Dukes said.
Funding for the project is being provided in part by the TRPA, a bistate organization established to protect the lake, because the improvements include two stormwater detention ponds off Lyons, infiltration trenches and gutters to transport stormwater to storm drains.
The city aimed to get the project finished before school started, but permits took more than four months to obtain when they normally take three, Dukes said. If the project is not built this year, the city loses the federal grant.
- Gregory Crofton can be reached at (530) 542-8045 or by e-mail at gcrofton@tahoedailytribune.com
