Pass system proposed for Six Mile Canyon commuters

Drivers seeking a shorter route to Virginia City or Reno from the Dayton Valley area through Six Mile Canyon Road may first have to get a pass.

At the direction of Storey County commissioners, District Attorney Harold Swafford has begun work drafting an ordinance creating a pass system for the road. It will cost people who do not live or work in Storey County $300 for an annual pass.

Commissioner Greg "Bum" Hess, who has long supported a toll road through the canyon, said it was important for people who use the road to pay for it.

"We're not trying to be bad neighbors, but we're just now getting out of a hole and we just need help paying for that road," he said. "We just want to spread it out evenly over the folks that use it."

Work has already begun repairing the road that has been closed since it was damaged in the New Year's Eve flood. Commissioners have approved $150,000 to do basic repairs.

Under the proposed pass system, the county would issue stickers to drivers who use the road. Six Mile Canyon Road has become a major route for Dayton-area residents driving to Reno.

Starr Thompson, of Mark Twain, said the plan is "ridiculous."

"What about the average person who comes to visit family, say from the Bay area?" she asked. "What do they do, get a one-day pass?"

Thompson said a lot of people in her neighborhood are angry about the road.

"A lot of people are really mad they can't get to Virginia City," she said. "We go up there quite often and frequent the shops, and we have only done that once since the road closed, because it's too much of a pain to have to go through Dayton."

She added that if deputies would just ticket the speeders, "maybe those funds could be used to pay for a portion of the road."

Drivers caught on the road without the proper permit would be subject to a fine, and anyone caught committing a moving violation on the road could lose their sticker, said Pat Whitten, county director of administration and budget.

The cost of the pass would average out to a little more than $1 per day for a round trip for Lyon County commuters to Reno, Whitten said.

"We don't have any plans to do anything similar on the Lyon County side of the road if people there want to come here," said Lyon County Manager Donna Kristaponis. "I thought most of Northern Nevada was trying to preach regionalism and working together."

Kristaponis said Lyon County officials have indicated their willingness to help with Six Mile Canyon Road, and that if a toll road was needed, residents of both counties should vote on creating a toll road authority.

She added that restricting access to the road will hurt Virginia City businesses as much as Lyon commuters.

"I myself have gone to Virginia City, especially when I had friends from out of town come in," she said. "We stopped, and they bought cowboy boots there. If I have to now get a pass to buy cowboy boots there, well, it strikes me as odd at best."

Mark Twain resident Jo Ellen Fonzo, who lives on the Storey County side of the neighborhood and works in Virginia City, opposes the permit plan, though she would qualify for a free pass.

"You don't need money from these people," she said. "Three hundred dollars a year is a lot of money."

Fonzo believes the county should just remove the remainder of the pavement below Virginia City and leave Six Mile Canyon a dirt road.

Hess said that there may be a way for day trippers to pay to use the road, and rejected calls to return Six Mile Canyon to a dirt road.

"The main reason that we got that open and paved is for the school district, so they can get up and down it year 'round," he said. "We want the school district and folks from Mark Twain to be able to use it without beating up their vehicles."

Hess added he expected the permit program to be ready when the road opens, by mid-June.

To prepare the road for repaving, Storey County Public Works employees Monday began removing a pickup that overturned in a culvert after the road gave way during the flooding.

"The $150,000 is to make as many repairs as soon as we can," Whitten said. "We don't expect it will take care of all of it. There will be some areas that will be gravel or dirt."

Assemblyman Tom Grady, R-Yerington, who tried unsuccessfully to arrange state and federal funding for the road, suggested the commissioners from the two counties get together to work something out.

"I think that would best serve the residents of both counties," he said.

• Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 351.