Delays expected on I-580 as paving starts; NDOT approves more Washoe Valley work

The Nevada Department of Transportation board has approved a project to repave the I-580/U.S. 395 freeway through Washoe Valley.

A spokesman for the department said the heavily used stretch of roadway was last repaved in 2004 and was in need of resurfacing. An estimated 32,000 cars use the road every day.

The project was awarded to Q&D Construction of Reno for more than $14.8 million.

Repaving will stretch from just south of the Bowers Mansion interchange approximately seven miles to the North Carson Street interchange just south of Lakeview Hill.

In addition to repaving the four-lane highway, the company will construct an extended auxiliary lane from Alternative 395 to southbound I-580 at Lakeview in Carson City to provide additional space for vehicles to merge onto the freeway.

The Bellevue Road bridge and the Eastlake Boulevard underpass also will be repaved and seismically retrofitted to improve their stability during potential earthquakes. Those two structures both date to the early 1960s when the freeway was originally built.

A spokesman said the bridge and the underpass will be closed intermittently during the construction period. Officials still are working on the schedule for the project.

In addition, the board approved a $35 million project to replace and w the pedestrian bridges at the intersection of the Las Vegas Strip and Tropicana Avenue. Whiting Turner Construction will completely replace 16 escalators while rebuilding all four bridges that surround the intersection.

NDOT deputy director John Terry said the goal was to have the work done by the time the new MGM Resorts International 20,000 seat arena opens in April of next year but they now believe it will take about two months longer than that to complete all the work.

Finally, the board approved a $2.78 million contract to repave NDOT’s Carson City equipment yard just east of the DMV building. Terry said the work is also going to fix drainage issues there that have raised Environmental Protection Agency concerns should the yard ever flood.