Q&D Construction has started a project that will repair some 15,000 feet of drainage pipe on Kingsbury Grade.
The Nevada Department of Transportation awarded the company an emergency contract for that and other drainage work on the roadway connecting the Genoa area of Douglas County to the Tahoe Basin.
An NDOT spokesman said the eroding roadway drainage pipe will be reinforced with a flexible pipe liner inserted into the old pipes. The resins in the pipe liner are then cured in place, hardened to create a durable pipe able to last decades.
The spokesman said the pipe liners are more cost effective and less disruptive than it would be to dig up and replace the old pipe.
Under the contract, Q&D crews will also replace roadway drainage inlets and add manholes to provide repair and maintenance access.
The problem was revealed after NDOT repaired a sinkhole that formed where a pipe crosses Kingsbury Grade less than 10 miles up the road from Carson Valley.
Assistant Director Reid Kaiser said over time, the flow of sediment, rocks and gravel down those pipes had worn them away from the inside.
At $4.43 million, Q & D was the low bidder to reline the pipes and make other drainage improvements. The work will stretch from Daggett Pass to the State Route 206 intersection in Douglas County.
During the construction that will take until late next summer, officials say there will be single lane closures with traffic flaggers to guide vehicles through the work zones. Closures will occur primarily Mondays through Fridays between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. and could cause delays of up to 30 minutes.
Construction will be halted during major special events as well as shut down during the winter months of December, January and February.
In addition, a $1.9 million contract was awarded to A&K Earthmovers for safety improvements on U.S. 395 at Airport Road, Johnson Lane and Stephanie Way.
Staff also told the transportation board they expect the reconstruction of Glendale Avenue/Second Street in Reno and Sparks to be completed in the near future. The $14 million contract was awarded earlier this year to rebuild the road between Kietzke Lane and McCarran Blvd., removing and replacing 18 inches of pavement and building a sidewalk along the north side of the road. Glendale is a heavily trafficked truck route and this is the first work that roadway has seen since 1995.