It must cross the Carson River somewhere

There's only one way to cross the Carson River in Dayton without getting wet, and that's by going over the bridge on Dayton Valley Road.

Many of the 4,194 people living south of the river would like to see an alternative crossing, but the sites that have been explored thus far have met with some resistance.

If something happened to the Dayton Valley Road bridge that forced it to close, such as a flood, major accident or defect, those south of the river would not be able to get to home.

Lyon County Engineer Dick Faber has been exploring several possibilities, including a bridge at Chaves near the planned Aspen Creek development in the eastern portion of Dayton Valley; at Cardelli Road, in the Riverpark development south of Mark Twain; south of Flowery Road; and an area near Quilici Road leading north to Sutro.

Planning Director Rob Loveberg indicated that a second bridge is an important component of a new master plan county staff is working on, and he expects it to be completed in 12-18 months.

Lyon County Sheriff Allen Veil said a second bridge is extremely important to emergency service providers, no matter where it is eventually built.

"A secondary access across that river is absolutely necessary," he said. "In an incident, whether it's natural or manmade, those people are cut off, and we have no access except by air."

Veil said a proposed location at least as far east as Occidental Drive would be helpful to the sheriff's office, since the substation is there.

"If it was a little bit further east than that, it would be OK," he said. "As much as the population is growing in that direction and other proposed development going in east toward Stagecoach, I think we'll be spending more and more time there."

It would also make it much easier for residents south of the river to get to the commercial district around Smith's market.

But some of those same residents indicated at a packed meeting of the Dayton Regional Advisory Council that they don't want to have to drive to the far east of the community to cross the river, the way they now have to drive to the western section.

"If there is to be a second bridge, put it where we can use it, either on Flowery or Cardelli roads," said resident Ron Adams.

Mabel Masterman preferred the Cardelli location as well, saying that because of the density of the Riverpark subdivision, it made more sense to her than the sparsely populated Chaves Road location.

"Traffic waits to get on Dayton Valley Road and often backs up," she said. "It would help Dayton Valley road to make the new bridge more centrally located."

Faber said at the DRAC meeting that eventually there could be two or three bridges over the Carson, though the costs are prohibitive.

He estimated that a bridge at Chaves would cost about $2 million; while a bridge at Cardelli - the favorite spot of the residents who showed up at the DRAC meeting - would be about $15 million.

Faber said developers would most likely be needed to build the bridges, to save the county money.

"Building bridges is expensive," he said. "We need to have developers shoulder the burden."

In any case, Faber said the construction of a bridge, no matter where it is placed, is years away.

He estimated it would take six months for a survey, another six months to design the bridge, then it would go to bids, which would take one to three months. All in all, it would take about two years after the Lyon County Commission voted to build it.

Loveberg said, "It depends on future development and funding. There's been nothing recommended or decided upon."

It can't come too soon for resident Sarah Chickling.

"Before you think roads, you should think bridges," she said. "If something happens, we're up the creek, or rather, we're up the Carson."



• Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 351.