SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Highwy 50 is set to re-open Tuesday morning at 8 a.m.
Many South Lake Tahoe businesses rely on summertime crowds and visitors, so the news that Highway 50 would reopen brought on some relief. After weeks of closures on Hwy 50, Noah Stiles, who works at a bike and ski rental shop, had come to notice that roughly half his customers take the major route into town.
"It’s been rough," explained Stiles, assistant manager of Tahoe Bike and Ski Company. "We go from COVID to smoke and fire to -- with COVID as well too, so it’s just kickin' us in the butt."
It had been a crushing last few months for Stiles and his employees at the typically busy bike and ski rental shop. He said Hwy 50's month-long closure had cut business in half.
"I think we actually would normally see more business here at our particular bike company coming from coming up from the California side than actually the Nevada side," Stiles explained. "I guess now it really tells a pretty good tale that.. most of our business does come from that way."
The news that the major route would be reopening was a welcome update for Stiles.
"Oh, that’s great, that’s great," he said. "It allows everybody to come back up, vacation again. All those weekend campers and weekend people can come up now, can come up much easier."
Crews were working along the highway to clear any remaining hazards by 8 a.m. Tuesday.
According to Caltrans, removal of dead and dying trees and powerline repairs were the top priorities. They said there was still a lot of work to do, but enough work had been done to get people safely back on the burned part of highway 50.
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