US 50 is the most significant and highly utilized transportation corridor in El Dorado County, providing east-west connections to Sacramento County, the State of Nevada, and east across the United States. It is the primary east west route for interregional tourism travel into the Lake Tahoe Basin. US 50 is also the major commute route to employment locations in the greater Sacramento area, and supports goods movement and agriculture in El Dorado County and the Lake Tahoe Basin.

In order to address long term problems associated with limited data availability and a need for a comprehensive investment strategy for the US 50 Corridor, EDCTC, in partnership with local and regional partners and Caltrans District 3, will conduct system user analysis, identify, and assess innovative pricing and investment strategies for the US 50 Corridor. The project will also perform data collection and develop traffic management strategies to prepare an access control action plan for future deployment of a pilot project along US 50 within the City of Placerville. The system user travel analysis will include comprehensive circulation and traffic data along US 50 to update and fill existing data gaps. Innovative pricing and investment strategies will include tolling, pricing, and other options to advance the efforts of Caltrans' US 50 Managed Lanes Feasibility Study and the ongoing EDCTC Recreation Travel Hot Spot Transportation Management Study. The access control action plan within the City of Placerville will conduct a risk assessment and evaluate the circulation impacts and procedures necessary for implementation of an innovative pilot project to close off local access to US 50 at the three signalized intersections. The access control action plan will determine the feasibility and identify necessary improvements, communication, traffic management, and safety measures to hold the signals in Placerville in a green phase for a designated time period to relieve congestion during peak periods along US 50 in the City of Placerville. The access control action plan will outline how a closure will be conducted during highly congested periods, as informed by the aforementioned system user travel analysis, to determine the effectiveness of such a strategy and identify potential lower cost congestion improvements.