(The new bridge earlier this summer)
Two big changes to the look and feel of downtown Tahoe City are in the process of happening right now.
Tahoe City’s new bridge and roundabouts:
A multi-year effort to provide a second crossing of the Truckee River in Tahoe City is nearing completion of the first phase. The new bridge is located about 1/4 mile north of the traffic light in Tahoe City. The bridge will be accessed via a roundabout. After crossing the bridge, the road passes through 64 Acres, and shortly meets a second roundabout on Highway 89. This phase of the project is nearly complete and is scheduled to be operational by the end of October.
Once this bridge and roundabout are in place, the next phase of the project is to earthquake retrofit Fanny Bridge which crosses the Truckee River just below the Lake Tahoe Dam. Once Fanny Bridge is redone, a new roundabout will replace the traffic light at the “Y” near Save Mart. Also part of the package is a realigning of the network of bike trails, which has already been completed with lanes going underneath the new bridge on both sides of the river.
Over the next few years Tahoe City will go from one bridge to two, then back to one for awhile while the old bridge is rebuilt, and then finally we will be graced by two bridges again…this may take awhile.
The hope is that when complete, it will make a big dent into the traffic congestion problems in Tahoe City as those coming from the West Shore and heading towards Truckee will not have to go through Tahoe City.
Tahoe City’s new lodge:
After a lengthy approval effort, the Tahoe City Lodge is finally under construction in the center of Tahoe City. Right now, the project is in the midst of the demolition phase with the Old Henrickson building sitting as a pile of rubble on the ground.
According to the lodge website, when built The Tahoe City Lodge will include:
118 total units, comprised of 40 hotel units and 78 one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites
Roof-top deck, bar and restaurant
Conference and meeting facilities
On-site recreational amenities (pool, rec room and hot tub)
For Tahoe City this is the first hotel to be built in decades, and it will give folks an opportunity to stay in quality accommodations right in town, with plenty of shopping and recreational amenities within walking distance.