South Carson Complete Streets, Roundabout design completed; construction to begin early March

The South Carson Complete Streets Project design has been completed, and last week Carson City Public Works and the project contractor, Sierra Nevada Construction, Inc., held a pre-construction meeting to present the anticipated construction schedule and the completed project design.

The Nevada Department of Transportation recently transferred the commercial corridor to the City, giving the City the opportunity to transform the corridor to provide safer travel opportunities for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists; improve access to abutting businesses; and prepare Carson City for Smart City advancements.

The approximate project limits are from the intersection of South Carson Street and 5th Street, south to the intersection of South Carson Street and Appion Way.

The project includes pedestrian safety measures, ADA-compliant sidewalks and curb ramps, narrowed travel lanes, a buffered multi-use path, dedicated bicycle facilities, a roundabout, critical improvements to stormwater infrastructure, improved business access, street lighting, enhanced signals, upgrades to the water and sewer systems, and fiber optic communications improvements that will complete the City’s core communications ring. Construction is anticipated to start late February of this year.

Carson City Public Works City Engineer Dan Stucky led the meeting, which can be found in its entirety here. He discussed everything from cost, to construction timelines, to design, and more.

From 2016-2017, studies of the corridor were conducted for the South Carson Complete Streets Projects, and in April of 2018 the project was awarded $7.57 million from the TIGER grant.

In Sept. 2018, a design team was assembled for the project and designs were initiated.

Between Oct. 2018 and Dec. 2019, over twenty public meetings have been held in relation to the project, public outreach to businesses was conducted in Oct. 2018, and the project design wad advanced from 30% to the final design.

Now, between Feb. 2020 and April 2021, project construction will take place.

The project will include landscaping, multi-use paths, street lighting, ADA enhancements, the new roundabout, illuminated pedestrian crossings, enhanced business access, pavement reconstruction, and stormwater and other utility improvements.

There will be three construction zones total in the project, according to Stucky: North of Stewart, the Roundabout (Stewart and Fairview) and South of Fairview.

Phase one will include underground construction, the frontage road, and west side concrete which is scheduled to take place from March through July.

Phase two will include the multi-use path, the roundabout, and concrete improvements which is scheduled to take place between May and September.

Phase three will finish up with roadwork and landscaping which is scheduled to begin in December and end in April.

The overall construction cost will be just over $20 million and nearly 70 percent has been funded from non-local sources, according to Stucky.

Business access will be accessible at all times throughout construction, said Project Manager Emma Crossman, with a minimum of one-lane of travel open in each direction South of Fairview and North of Stewart.

As far as the Roundabout goes, one northbound lane will be closed on Stewart for 6-8 weeks during construction.

Dates of completion are as follows:

Construction will begin in Early March.

Roundabout Construction will begin late June/early July.

5th to Fairview Completion should occur on or around Oct. 29, 2020.

Total project completion should be attained by Dec. 2020, with final landscaping occurring in Spring 2021 as necessary.

The construction map can be found at http://carsonproud.com/map/