Traffic lights back on Roop

Workers were picking up traffic cones and testing the signal lights on Roop Street Friday afternoon as motorists rolling through the area looked pleasantly surprised.

Major road work on Roop and Hot Springs Road, and Hot Springs from Roop to Nye Lane near the new Wal-Mart, is complete - and three weeks ahead of schedule.

"We're very happy it's finished early," said Chuck Knowlton, chief inspector for city engineering. "The contractors worked six days a week on that project just to speed it up."

Roop Street between Northridge Drive and College Parkway was closed Tuesday so workers could repave and restripe the roadway, a high-traffic area with many businesses within and around it.

Hot Springs turns into Private Drive once motorists pass through the Roop intersection. The Private section, which allows entry into the Wal-Mart shopping center, should open sometime next week, Knowlton said.

Work on the street began in May and was originally scheduled to be completed Aug. 15.

Though motorists were warned work-related delays could last as long as 20 minutes, seldom did the waits last five minutes, he said.

The project has been conducted with few complaints. Knowlton said credit for that goes to the contractors, Colorado Structures, Inc., and Northern Nevada Excavation, and the area utility providers. The small businesses in the neighborhood that had to deal with the numerous obstructions during the project also deserve thanks, he said.

And who else deserves kudos? "The traveling public," Knowlton added.

Up to 20,000 drivers traveled through the intersection daily before the work began. Once the road work is complete, the number of vehicles rolling through the intersection should be slightly higher, according to city officials' estimates.

Some minor paving work and landscaping remain, but won't require the traffic control.

• Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.