Bypass tours offered to public

The public can take tours beginning next month of the Carson City bypass route they will someday take to travel through town.

From inside the tour van, they will see the project rapidly taking shape. Nearly 50 feet of soundwalls are being constructed daily, truckloads of dirt are being moved from the hill on the north end to fill sections of freeway, and mounds of dirt are shaping up as offramps and traffic lanes.

"We expect this tour to be very popular," said Nevada Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Magruder. "Residents are very curious about this. It's a unique opportunity to go out and see the freeway as it's being constructed."

While work continued Wednesday along the entire stretch between Lakeview and U.S. 50 East, major progress is being made on the north end. Project officials are expecting to have the north- and southbound onramps from Carson Street to the Lakeview hill area paved by the end of summer.

Workers were building two bridge structures on the east side of the current freeway. About 1/2 million cubic yards of fill dirt will be removed from the hill on the north side of the freeway at the Lakeview area to build up the freeway there.

Eventually, the hill cut will be landscaped with boulders and treatments to add to the freeway design, said Jim Gallegos, NDOT project engineer.

AMES construction broke ground on the $70 million northern section a year ago. It should be finished by 2006, Gallegos said.

The tour will skirt through the project area, taking visitors to view massive detention basins, culverts and the future roadway.

Participants will get a peek at what they will see while driving above the northern half of the city, with 12-foot soundwalls along one side and mountain views on the other.

It's exciting to see the culverts and route take shape after six years overseeing the project, Gallegos said. It seems like thousands of problems crop up each week as 200 construction workers and nearly 40 NDOT staff work to build it, he said.

"It changes every day," he said.

Contact Jill Lufrano at jlufrano@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.

For information on tours:

Carson bypass, call 888-7000 or go to ccfreeway.com

I580 freeway extension, go to frfeewayextension.com