On April 15, the Reno City Council unanimously approved a contract in the amount of $18.3 million with Q&D Construction, Inc. for construction of the Virginia Street Bridge.
According to the City of Reno, the project will replace the current structure, which is more than 110 years old, improving flood capacity and ensuring that this vital connection to downtown is secure.
Construction of the project started in May 2015 and is slated to be completed by summer of 2016. The project includes sidewalk improvements from Mill to First streets.
The structure, an earthen-filled concrete-arch bridge over the Truckee River in downtown Reno, is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and is used by over 14,000 residents and northern Nevada visitors every day.
But the bridge is showing the signs of its 110-year age, say city officials.
The bridge is also a severe choke point for the Truckee River, which means rehabilitation of the existing structure is not feasible.
Officials said a new bridge is set to replace the older structure to ensure public safety, improve travel for pedestrians across the bridge and also make improvements to the Truckee River’s flood capacity. The new design calls for a clear span with concrete arch railing and bowstring truss support.
Q&D, headquartered in the Reno-Sparks area for more than 50 years, has managed and built critical infrastructure projects, with challenging regulatory constraints, high public visibility, within congested urban spaces, and with multiple stakeholders.
The Truckee River is one of the most regulated bodies of water in the U.S. and Q&D’s knowledge and expertise with environmental compliance during construction will serve the Reno-Sparks community well.
According to Q&D, the company has in the past worked on building projects that are components of the Truckee River Flood Management Project like the Virginia Street Bridge, including the North Truckee Drain Realignment in Sparks, and several restoration projects along the Truckee River on behalf of the Nature Conservancy.
