Caltrans to repair historic Ebbetts Pass over the Sierra Nevada

Caltrans is set to begin a four-year-long project to repair a vital, yet remote, mountain highway that traverses the Sierra Nevada.

On Aug. 3, Caltrans is set to begin construction on Highway 4 in Alpine County. The $36.4 million project will rehabilitate around 31.7 miles of Highway 4, including Ebbetts Pass - "one of the most intimate and untamed trans-Sierra routes," according to the U.S. Forest Service. The construction will also pass through popular outdoor recreation destinations, including Bear Valley, Lake Alpine, Mosquito Lakes and Pacific Valley.

Repairing the winding road over Ebbetts Pass, which tops out at 8,050 feet at the Pacific Grade Summit, is not straightforward. The road is mostly a two-lane highway, but at the higher elevations, it becomes steep and curvy and narrows into a single lane. It's also closed during the winter months. The Ebbetts Pass National Scenic Byway calls the route "one of the last remaining wild trans-Sierra passes." The Caltrans project does not include any lane widening where the roadway turns into one lane.

"There are a host of unique challenges facing Caltrans and the contractor when performing work along our scenic mountain pass highways," Caltrans spokesperson Brian Hooker told SFGATE in an email. "Some of those challenges include the steep mountain terrain, narrow highway corridors, potentially short windows for construction based on seasonal weather patterns and also providing accommodations for outdoor recreational activities and local economies which are largely based on tourism."

The project involves replacing 66 drainage culverts, seven guardrails, 274 roadside signs and two overhead sign structures, along with rehabilitating the asphalt concrete.   Locals should expect one-way traffic control and periodic full highway closures while the area is under construction. 

Project funding came from the 2020 State Highway Operation and Protection Program, a "fix-it-first" initiative from the California Transportation Commission that provides funding for "preservation, emergency repairs, safety improvements, and some highway operational improvements on the State Highway System."

On Saturday, Caltrans took to Facebook to announce that its July 13   start date had been pushed back to Aug. 3, which Hooker said is intended to make travel easier for the approximately 4,000 attendees of the Bear Valley Music Festival, which runs from July 17 to Aug. 2.

"#CaltransDistrict10 is working with Alpine County communities toward one of its guiding principles of PROSPERITY by delaying the State Route 4 Anchor pavement project to allow for peak of summer-season activities to continue work on this project," Caltrans said in the post.

Before the delay, Caltrans had conducted only "preconstruction survey work," Hooker said. When construction begins, drivers should expect one-way traffic control from the western portion of state Route 4 in Alpine County to the Raymond Meadow Creek Bridge. The bridge is expected to be fully closed. 

The project completion date is scheduled for fall 2030. Hooker said the delay will not affect the construction timeline.

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