North Roop Street to reopen Dec. 16

North Roop Street will reopen Dec. 16 after a major widening project that re-routed traffic from one of Carson City's busiest streets for nearly a year.

"It's a very good feeling to be able to complete a project that was conceived years ago," said Carson City Transportation Manager Patrick Pittenger.

City officials will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. Dec. 16. Following the ceremony, the traffic control barriers will be removed, and the road will be opened to public travel.

North Roop Street closed between North Stewart and William streets in late January. It has remained closed throughout the project. During the summer, the road was also closed between William and Robinson streets to widen that portion and add a JAC bus stop pull-out.

Pittenger pointed to a number of benefits - some obvious and some not. While the primary improvement is that the road has two through lanes in each direction, many other improvements were made:

• The traffic signals at William and Long streets were upgraded.

• Sidewalks and bicycle lanes were constructed along the road.

• Bus stop improvements for the JAC transit system were installed, including bus pull-outs and passenger shelters near the library and community center.

• New energy-efficient LED

streetlights were installed.

• The parking lot of the library was completely reconstructed.

• Safety improvements were made at two previously hazardous locations, the intersections of North Roop Street with both Washington and John streets.

• Utility poles along the road were permanently removed.

• Substantial improvements were made to numerous underground utilities.

• Long Street was reconstructed between North Roop and North Stewart streets.

Before the construction project, daily traffic counts on Roop Street just north of William Street were about 14,000 vehicles a day.

"We'll be measuring traffic next spring to see how traffic adjusts to the new conditions," Pittenger said.

City officials have been aware that the project has affected motorists as well as residents and businesses.

"We really appreciate the patience of the traveling public and property owners in the project area," said Jeff Sharp, city engineer and project manager. "We realize that the reduced access inconvenienced property owners such as the businesses on Corbett Street, and we're happy to reopen the road and provide better access than ever."

Carson City Supervisor and Regional Transportation Commission Chairwoman Shelly Aldean said the event is cause for celebration.

"The scope expanded substantially during the course of the project," Aldean said, "but we are happy that Roop Street can now be reunited."

When aging underground utility lines are discovered, the time to replace them is when the road is torn up, she said, but weather also caused some delays.

Pittenger also said the project created jobs.

"While the construction process can be difficult at times, we're very pleased that we could complete the project during challenging economic conditions," Pittenger said. "Contractors were able to retain many employees to conduct the work and taxpayers benefitted from the favorable bidding climate."

The ceremony will take place between William and Corbett streets. City officials will be joined by representatives of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce and representatives of the private sector firms which participated in the design and construction of the road, Pittenger said.

"We appreciate everyone's patience and encourage people to visit the businesses on Corbett Street," he said.

To access the ceremony on Dec. 16, attendees are asked to park on John Street or on Corbett Street, as N. Roop Street will remain closed until the ceremony is complete and the traffic control barriers are removed.

The $4.1 million project came from a combination of RTC and utility funds.

No major road projects are planned for 2011, but Phase 3 of Roop Street - between Washington and Fifth streets - is now in the design phase.

For more information, call Pittenger at 887-2355 ext. 7396.