Construction on final phase of Carson City Bypass starts June 15

Road and Highway Builders of Sparks starts construction of the final phase of the Carson City Bypass project June 15.

The company was awarded the contract for $42.24 million to pave the final four miles of roadway between Fairview Drive and the Spooner/U.S. 50 Junction. At present, the freeway ends at Fairview Drive, funneling large amounts of truck traffic back onto south Carson Street.

That bid was $5 million less than the original engineer’s estimate of $47.65 million.

Nevada Department Of Transportation officials say the project will take two construction seasons and finish with an at-grade, signalized intersection where the bypass meets south Carson Street and U.S. 50 at Spooner Summit.

Project Manager Stephen Lani said the work will require the contractor to move about a million cubic yards of dirt to prepare for a base and pavement layer two feet thick.

A spokesman said one of the innovative parts of the project will be a conveyor system running under Carson Street near the junction to move a large part of that dirt.

The freeway will handle a traffic load estimated at more than 43,000 vehicles a day by 2035.

The Nevada Department of Transportation board awarded the contract at its May 11 meeting.

A total of six companies bid on the project, which will construct a four-lane freeway and the new intersection. It will complete the freeway around downtown Carson City which city officials hope will enable changes that revitalize the downtown corridor along Carson Street.

The decision to build the at-grade intersection with traffic signals instead of a full interchange made the contract possible this year by saving about $20 million. But NDOT officials say that, eventually, the interchange will be constructed.

The project is being financed by a combination of funding from the federal government, state highway funds and Carson City.