5-year pavement management plan OK’d for Carson City

The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) approved a five-year pavement management plan for Carson City.

The plan outlines an annual schedule for staff to inspect pavement in the spring, evaluate projects in the summer, and put those projects out to bid in the fall, which should enable the city to save money by awarding contracts in the winter rather than in the spring when construction firms are already busy.

The new plan also creates five city districts. At least 80 percent of funding from the Transportation Infrastructure account in the RTC budget will be concentrated in a single district each year in order to maximize construction dollars. The remaining money will be set aside for emergency improvements and grant funding opportunities.

The RTC funds are for capital improvement projects. Money from the city’s Street Maintenance fund is separate and will continue to be used for street repairs, snow plowing, signals maintenance, and road striping all over the city.

In fiscal year 2019, which starts in July, the city will inspect, evaluate, and determine projects in what is District 1 — north Carson City, including the area northeast of Highway 50.

The following years will cycle through the remaining districts in order.

District 2 covers central Carson City, including William, Roop, and Stewart streets; District 3 includes Fairview Drive and everything east, from Arrowhead Drive to just south of Clearview Drive; District 4 is south central Carson City in the retail area of Carson Street bordered by Curry Street and Edmonds Drive; and District 5 is everything west of Stewart Street and north of Fairview Drive.

The plan is a hybrid approach, said Lucia Maloney, transportation manager.

The city once did something similar with eight designated districts. Then it moved to a software management system that prioritized projects without considering road location so the top projects ended up being all over the map, which was not the most cost effective way to plan.

The city will continue to utilize the software system, but chose projects based on districts.

The RTC also heard a presentation from Lori Campbell with the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) on pedestrian safety measures NDOT plans on Stewart Street.

NDOT will be adding rectangular rapid flashing beacons, like the one behind the Nevada Legislature, at two locations near the Carson Mall.

At Little Lane, NDOT will be adding a beacon and moving the existing crosswalk to the south side of the street.

Farther south, NDOT will be consolidating two crosswalks into one between the entrance to the NDOT building and the Division of Motor Vehicles and adding a beacon as well as a pedestrian refuge island so pedestrians can cross half the road, request a second beacon signal, and then cross the other half of the road.

The project is expected to be constructed this fall.