Kingsbury Grade project wins TRPA "Best in Basin" Award

A Nevada Department of Transportation project to repave and enhance Kingsbury Grade last year has received a Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Best in the Basin Award.

The project substantially completed ahead of schedule in 2014, and was recognized as a water quality and erosion control improvement that helped enhance the Lake Tahoe environment.

Approximately $15 million was spent on the project which reconstructed pavement on portions of Kingsbury Grade to a 13-inch depth and excavated approximately 24,000 cubic yards of old road and placement of 24,000 tons of new asphalt. More than 4,000 linear feet of storm drain pipe, 3,300 linear feet of sidewalk and 8,700 linear feet of curb and gutter were also installed. The project included safety, lighting and accessibility improvements, as well as improved water quality by constructing two new water quality basins and improving two others.

The project’s success was largely due to public understanding of construction-related Kingsbury Grade road closures which ultimately reduced construction time from as much as three years to one year.

“These traffic closures helped us complete work much more quickly than we would otherwise have been able to,” NDOT Project Manager Pedro Rodriguez explained. “We know that a traffic closure impacts drivers and residents, and the understanding of the Kingsbury Grade, Tahoe and Carson Valley communities during last year’s construction truly helped us complete the project successfully and ahead of schedule.”