Public comments that will guide design of new road projects and development of landscaping and other aesthetic improvements by the state will be gathered Feb. 7 during an open house offered by the Nevada Department of Transportation.
The purpose, according to transportation spokesman Ron Blakemore, is to ensure the state's final plan reflects local goals.
"We've actually recorded all the information from environmental conditions to culture and history, the spirit of the area we're studying," he said. "We're trying to nail this down to really make the highways fit with the communities, with the environment."
The biggest roadways in the study corridor are Highway 395 form the state line at Topaz Lake to the state line at Hallelujah Junction 10 miles north of Reno, and Highway 50 from Stateline in the Tahoe Basin to the junction with Six Mile Canyon Road east of Dayton.
It also includes State Route 28 along the northeast shore of Lake Tahoe, Kingsbury Grade and the Mount Rose Highway.
Blakemore said the public is invited to attend the open house, at the Carson High School Library, and submit comments on the proposed design objectives and themes for all of the state's roads in the area. He said the ideas generated by staff and others so far will be presented for the public to review, comment on or criticize. And he said they're open to any new and different ideas people may have.
Money is available because 3 percent of the construction budget for all new highways and capacity improvements to existing roads is dedicated to landscaping and aesthetics, he said.
Comments will be accepted through Feb. 24 and may be submitted in writing or through the Internet.
-- Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.
If you go
What: NDOT open house on landscape and aesthetics plans for Highway 395, Highway 50, State Route 28, State Route 207 and State Route 431
When: 4-7 p.m. Feb. 7
Where: Carson High School library, 1111 N. Saliman Road
Comments to:
Ron Blakemore, NDOT
1263 S. Stewart St.
Carson City, NV 89712
Phone: 888-7110
On the Net
Nevada Department of Transportation:
www.ndothighways.org