An after photo of the work done at Cave Rock.
The Nevada Department of Transportation has basically completed work to improve the safety for drivers through the Cave Rock tunnels at Lake Tahoe.
The project extended the westbound lakeside tunnel entrance to keep falling boulders from landing on the roadway. The new entrance is about 60 feet long and 27 feet high.
In addition, workers added white paint and lighting inside both tunnels to improve visibility and installed radar-activated signs to automatically notify drivers of bicycles in the tunnels or icy conditions.
Drainage inlets and sediment filtration systems were also installed north of the tunnels on Highway 50.
Q&D Construction of Sparks did the $6 million project. The company started work in May and finished nearly a month ahead of schedule. During that time, traffic was reduced to one lane in each direction through the northbound tunnel. Now all four lanes in two tunnels are open.
The project was ordered after heavy rains in 2014-2015 loosened large boulders that fell blocking the roadway. As part of the project, experts removed loose rock debris above the tunnel and installed netting to help catch falling rocks.