The Cave Rock Tunnel is a dual bore highway tunnel on

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

(US 50) along the eastern shore of

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...

approximately seven miles (11.4 km) north of Stateline, in Douglas County,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, United States. It passes through Cave Rock, a volcanic stone formation. To the Washoe Indian Tribe, Cave Rock ( Washo: De ek Wadapush) is considered a sacred place and the tribe has placed restrictions on recreational activities in the vicinity of the tunnel.

Description

The tunnels carry

through Cave Rock, a mountain on the eastern shore of

. Numerous small caves are adjacent to the south portal of both tunnels and give the rock its name. The tunnel is between the towns of Zephyr Cove and Glenbrook along the US 50 corridor. This portion of US 50 is a

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

, part of the Lake Tahoe - Eastshore Drive. The westbound bore is long and features exposed rock; the eastbound bore features a concrete liner and is long. The tunnels are an elevation of at approximately , about above the level of the lake.

History

The tunnel dates back to the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...

. Originally the Lincoln Highway was routed along a single lane

hanging bridge Hanging Bridge is a medieval bridge spanning the Hanging Ditch, which connected the rivers Irk and Irwell in Manchester, England. The first reference to the bridge was in 1343, when it was called Hengand Brigge, but the present structure was ...

and rock wall built in 1863. Recognizing the inadequacy of the single lane road, efforts began to improve capacity on the primary road to Lake Tahoe. The first bore was constructed in 1931, as part of a reconstruction of a section of the Lincoln Highway. Concerned about damaging Cave Rock, the project managers employed key people from the recently completed Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel in what is now

Zion National Park Zion National Park is an American national park located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a variety ...

in Utah. The first traffic began flowing through the bore in mid-September of that year. Construction on the second bore began in 1957, when US 50 was widened to four lanes, at a cost of just over $450,000 (equivalent to $ million today). Coincidentally, both bores were constructed by Utah-based construction companies. After a 2015 rockslide, and observations of more unstable rock in the area, the

Nevada Department of Transportation The Nevada Department of Transportation (Nevada DOT or NDOT) is a government agency in the U.S. state of Nevada. NDOT is responsible for maintaining and improving Nevada's highway system, which includes U.S. highways and Interstate highways within ...

initiated a safety improvement and retrofit project in 2016. The project retrofitted parts of the original 1931 bore with a concrete liner and extended the tunnel by on its north end by constructing a rock fall shelter to protect the roadway from falling rocks. The retrofit included new lighting for both tunnels, and

variable message sign A variable- (also changeable-, electronic-, or dynamic-) message sign, often abbreviated VMS, CMS, or DMS, and in the UK known as a matrix sign, is an electronic traffic sign often used on roadways to give travelers information about special ...

s on the approaches designed to activate upon the presence of bicyclists or ice inside the tunnel.

Tribal relations

The Cave Rock area is considered sacred by the Washoe tribe. The Washoe tribal leaders were not consulted about the construction of either bore, and were upset about the desecration of their tribal lands. Within the last decade, the Washoe Tribe has had a larger influence on Cave Rock and its historic preservation. In 2007, the Federal Government ruled on a precedent-setting case that has restricted activities around the tunnel, such as

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

References

External links

''University of California Davis'' - 1946 photo of the Cave Rock Tunnel
{{Authority control Lake Tahoe Tunnels in Nevada Buildings and structures in Douglas County, Nevada U.S. Route 50 Lincoln Highway Transportation in Douglas County, Nevada Tunnels completed in 1931 Articles containing video clips Road tunnels in the United States 1931 establishments in Nevada Washoe