NDOT almost half-way done with new Carson City freeway

The trip from Lake Tahoe to Reno will be a shorter one once the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) completes the final leg of the I-580 Carson City Freeway. As of Thursday, construction is 50 percent completed.

Those making the trip down Highway 50 to Carson City have seen almost one million cubic yards of earth excavated to make way for the future roadway that will be completed in 2017.

The excavation was needed to lower the elevation of sections of the freeway to bring the road below existing overpasses and reduce traffic noise.

Paving of the future freeway began in late August, and 70 percent of roadside soundwalls have been installed. Freeway construction will continue with installation of remaining soundwalls, as well as roadway drainage, signage, lighting, landscaping and striping.

Periodic lane closures and reduced speed limits also continue on both directions of South Carson Street in the Spooner junction area to reconstruct the intersection for the future freeway. The periodic lane closures are anticipated to last through fall, with at least one lane in either direction remaining open during construction. A 4,500 foot long two-lane on-ramp will be constructed to connect northbound U.S. 395 to the new freeway. Lanes and ramps will also be constructed connecting the Carson City Freeway to southbound U.S. 395, U.S. 50 and northbound Carson Street. The future four-way intersection will be controlled by a traffic signal coordinated with surrounding signals for optimum traffic flow.

“With paving underway, the future freeway is really taking shape,” NDOT Resident Engineer Ashley Hurlbut described. “The project is on schedule, and we’re well on our way to completing an interstate that will further connect Carson City and the entire region.”

The approximately $42 million project, begun June 15, 2015, will pave and open the last approximately four miles of the Carson City Freeway to traffic between Fairview Drive and the Spooner/U.S. 50 junction in south Carson City. The project is expected to complete, opening the final segment of freeway to traffic, in 2017 and is being constructed by contractor Road and Highway Builders. With funding from federal transportation funds, the state highway fund and Carson City, the freeway is aimed at increasing traffic mobility and safety with an interstate bypass to help remove through-traffic congestion from downtown Carson City. An estimated 43,000 vehicles daily are projected to use the section of freeway by 2035.