USA Parkway public hearing Wednesday

The Nevada Department of Transportation will host a public hearing to discuss the USA Parkway project on Wednesday.

Currently, USA Parkway is a privately built, six-mile-long road connecting from Interstate 80 into the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center east of Sparks. The proposed project would extend the Parkway by more than 12 miles to reach U.S. 50 near Silver Springs, creating an approximately 18-mile-long, four-lane state roadway between Interstate 80 and U.S. 50.

The new roadway would further link the greater Reno/Sparks and Fernley/Fallon areas with the U.S. 50 Silver Springs corridor, enhancing regional mobility and creating an additional route for commuter, freight and other traffic. The route would also help support regional economic development and serve as another route in the event of emergency or weather-related road closures. Construction includes previously-planned widening of two and a half miles of U.S. 50 between the USA Parkway and U.S. 95A, including construction of a roundabout at the junction of U.S. 50 and U.S. 95A. Cost-benefit analysis shows a high benefit to cost ratio, meaning project benefits such as increased mobility, traffic safety and traveler time savings greatly outweigh project costs. The project is projected to reduce travel times by as much as 38 percent for those traveling between U.S. 50 and I-80.

Project construction is estimated to cost approximately $70 million. Construction will begin as early as 2016, with the parkway scheduled to open to traffic in Dec., 2017, due to the Tesla Motors gigafactory.

The project is currently nearing completion of the environmental review phase, and the public is invited to comment on the Environmental Assessment prepared for the project. The Environmental Assessment includes addressing project environmental impacts and development of a preferred alternative roadway alignment connecting to U.S. 50 at Opal Avenue in Silver Springs.

The public hearing will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Silver Stage High School located at 3755 West Spruce Ave. in Silver Springs with an informational presentation held at 5:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend the open-format meeting at any time between 4 and 7 p.m. to discuss the project and provide comments. Comments can also be made before Nov. 21 online at www.nevadadot.com, by email at info@dot.state.nv.us or by mail to Pedro Rodriguez, NDOT Project Manager at 1263 South Stewart Street, Carson City, 89712.

Further project information is available at www.nevadadot.com or by calling (775) 888-7000.