sierra nevada

California Department of Transportation Crews Blast Massive Boulder Blocking Highway

Caltrans deemed the roadway conditions safe for motorists around 3 p.m. and the highway reopened

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Travel through the Sierra Nevada overnight Friday was disrupted by a massive boulder that fell onto U.S. Highway 50 at Echo Summit.

Caltrans said crews worked through the night using large drilling tools to prepare to blow up the rock.

A rock slide crashed down and closed both directions of Highway 50 at Echo Summit Thursday.

Highway 50 was closed around 6 p.m. Thursday due to the rock slide. Crews were scheduled to perform blasting operations Friday morning and repair a guard rail damaged by the rocks.

Caltrans deemed the roadway conditions safe for motorists around 3 p.m. and the highway reopened.

Motorists should allow at least one-hour extra travel time to reach South Lake Tahoe. Alternate routes available on the Caltrans website.

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