A throughway linking a Douglas County housing subdivision to Highway 50 is expected to be complete in several weeks and a section of it should be open within days, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation.
The entire $6.7 million road project extends nearly five miles from Highway 50 to the Clear Creek Ranch subdivision site in Douglas County, just south of Carson City. The roadwork is a required portion of the residential development expected to add 366 homes, 18 time-share residences and a golf course to that area.
Last year, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the residential subdivision could go forward after legal wrangling sought to halt it from being built on scenic forest and meadow area. Work on it hasn't started yet, however.
NDOT partnered with Syncon Homes Inc., the developer of Clear Creek Ranch, and paid a portion of the project cost, $1.1 million, to improve conditions around Highway 50.
"It was a potentially dangerous situation," said Scott Magruder, NDOT spokesman, about the road and ramps near the highway that should be ready Friday.
Drivers have endured months of slowdowns and diversions in and around the work area.
"Now we have a very safe interchange," he said.
For example, drivers were making willy-nilly U-turns to get where they needed to go, but now have a "safe place" to turn around, Magruder said.
The remainder of the road project, set to be named Tahoe Golf Club Drive, should be finished by early August, said Don Miner, a spokesman for Syncon.
It won't just help future residents but should also provide additional travel options to people living on Old Clear Creek Road. The narrow, curvy, bumpy road repeatedly crosses the border between Carson City and Douglas County.
"I can't wait," said resident Dan Wheeler, who lives on Old Clear Creek but has a business near the lake, Incline Jewelry. The new road will make it easier and faster to commute to and from Lake Tahoe and other points west.
The new road also would provide Wheeler and others living on the old road an emergency exit in case there is a fire or other crisis that requires a quick evacuation, Miner said.
Old Clear Creek Road used to be Highway 50 but is now a private throughway.
• Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.