Carson City Freeway opens to earth pads
Submitted by Brett Fisher on Sat, 07/22/2017 - 11:03am
Thousands of people turned out Saturday morning to celebrate the near-completion of the much-anticipated Carson City Interstate 580 freeway bypass riding their bicycles, walking, jogging or skating on top of the pavement that will soon carry tens of thousands of vehicles upon it when open next month.
The I-580 run, walk and ride event began about 9 a.m. Saturday and continued until noon.
The final three-mile section of the Carson City Freeway, between Fairview and the junction of South Carson Street and U.S. Highway 50 West, is scheduled to open to vehicles in August, the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) has said.
Next month's freeway opening culminates a four-decade wait by the community to see a freeway bypass vision come to fruition.
Prior to construction of I-580, Nevada was one of only a few states without an interstate connecting to the capital city, NDOT said.
The new segment of freeway marks completion of I-580 linking Reno and Carson City.
Since breaking ground in 2000, construction of the approximately 10-mile I-580 Carson City Freeway, between the top of Lakeview Hill and South Carson Street at Spooner Junction, has been phased to best utilize available funding, NDOT said.
Nearly six million cubic yards of earth were moved, 18 million pounds of reinforcing steel installed and more than $200 million in federal, state and local transportation funds dedicated to construct the freeway between Lakeview Hill in north Carson City and the U.S. 50 junction in the southern part of the city, NDOT said.
In December 2015, the freeway was officially dedicated as the Carson City Deputy Sheriff Carl Howell Memorial Freeway.
Aimed at increasing traffic mobility and safety with an interstate bypass to help remove through-traffic congestion from downtown Carson City, an estimated 43,000 vehicles daily are projected to use the new southern section of freeway by 2035, NDOT said.
The new intersection of the Carson City Freeway and U.S. 50 at South Carson Street will be a signaled intersection. NDOT has future plans to build a full interchange and bridge carrying Carson City Freeway traffic over South Carson Street should funding become available.
“Our goal is to help keep Nevada safe and connected,” NDOT Director Rudy Malfabon explained. “And the Carson City Freeway not only helps connect our capital city, it will further connect the entire region. The community has supported us throughout construction of the freeway, and it is with pride that we open the last leg of the Carson City Freeway to the Carson City community and the entire state.”
“The opening of the last leg of the I-580 freeway is a long-awaited turning point for the Carson City community and one which we have been anticipating and preparing for over several decades,” said Carson City Mayor Robert Crowell. “First conceived in the 1960s, it has now become a reality.”
Further information is available at www.ccfreeway.com or call 775-888-7000.
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