Kingsbury Grade reopens after flood damage repairs made

Kingsbury Grade, the main connection between Lake Tahoe and the Carson Valley, has been reopened by the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT).

In December, a sinkhole formed where a drainage pipe crosses underneath the road at mile marker 4.3, approximately 10 miles up the road on the Carson Valley side. NDOT closed it on January 3 to put in temporary repairs and reopened three days later.

Extensive flooding caused more extensive erosion to the road and NDOT had to again close the road on January 8. Contractor Q&D Construction excavated approximately 150 feet across and 50 feet below the road surface to completely remove and replace the eroded drainage pipe and then rebuild and repave the roadway. As weather warms up and dries out in future months, additional drainage improvements may be needed along the same section of road.

“We want drivers to be able to get safely where they need to go,” NDOT District Engineer Thor Dyson explained. “Construction work took place 14 hours a day during the break between storms to make permanent repairs that weather didn’t allow last time. We’re glad to be able to reopen the road for all of those who rely on it to connect Tahoe and the Carson Valley.”

In 2014, NDOT reconstructed a different section of Kingsbury Grade on the Lake Tahoe side, making improvements to roadway surface, drainage, curb and gutter and more. The area of recent erosion is east of the reconstructed roadway, and not in the same area that was reconstructed. NDOT already has scheduled a project to invest approximately $5 million to enhance roadway drainage and erosion control on the Carson Valley section of Kingsbury Grade in 2019. The section of road is traveled by approximately 5,600 vehicles daily.

Elsewhere in the region, NDOT contractors are making emergency flood repairs to rebuild roadway shoulders and repair the roadway surface in flood-damaged areas of McCarran Boulevard, Franktown Road and State Routes 445 (Pyramid Highway) and 447 (Gerlach Highway). Drivers should anticipate minor travel delays and single lane reductions as repairs are made, and are advised to leave extra travel time. One state road, State Route 446 near Pyramid Lake, is undergoing extensive flood repairs and remains closed.