Crews work to explode massive rocks blocking Highway 50 in El Dorado County

Both directions of Highway 50 in El Dorado County are closed after a rockslide blocked the road, officials say.

Caltrans said the rockslide happened at Echo Summit around 5:40 p.m., and the highway is projected to be closed, at least through Friday morning. The California Highway Patrol said there is no estimated time of reopening.

The rocks did not crash onto anyone, and there were no drivers nearby at the time, CHP said. Crews will be drilling and exploding rocks to make clearing the road easier.

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CHP said it will then check the road for any damage or other rocks/boulders of concern.

“I assessed the best I could, and right now, it looks stable to me,” said Bill Netto, Caltrans acting area superintendent said Thursday night at the rockslide site. “There’s one rock that I’m concerned about, but it’s not gonna interfere with what we’re doing, and we’ll deal with that in the morning if we have to.”

Drivers are asked to take alternate routes. If you’re wanting to head to Tahoe, you would want to go up Interstate 80. If you are on the east side of Echo Summit and want to get around the South Lake Tahoe area, you would want to try highways 88, 89 or 49.

Stay with KCRA 3 for updates on road clearing progress.