Large boulder falls off Echo Summit onto Highway 50 in El Dorado County; expect delays
A large boulder fell off of Echo Summit Wednesday morning and crashed down onto the Highway 50 mountain pass in El Dorado County, blocking traffic in both directions, the California Highway Patrol said.
The boulder fell off the summit shortly after 8 a.m., the CHP South Lake Tahoe Area Office said in social media posts. Caltrans crews quickly moved all of the rock debris into the westbound lane and reopened the eastbound lane.
The CHP said vehicles were moving through the area in one-way traffic control, and drivers should be prepared for delays. Shortly after 10 a.m., the CHP announced that Caltrans crews were working on drilling-out the boulder, hoping to clean up the road without having to blast the rock.
This was the second time this month that a massive rock fell onto Highway 50 near Echo Summit. In that incident, construction and road crews worked through the night to drill holes into the boulder before blasting the rock into manageable pieces the following morning.
This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 1:53 PM.
