Fallon motorists traveling to Reno of Fernley will have an easier commute in less than two months.

The final phase of construction that will complete the widening of U.S. Highway 50A from Leeteville Junction to Jersey Lane - making the entire stretch of road between Fallon and Fernley a four-lane highway - is scheduled to be completed by late June, reports the Nevada Department of Transportation.

NDOT Public Information Officer Scott Magruder thinks the project will be finished by the end of June.

The bid for the final phase of the project was awarded to Road and Highway Builders, LLC in December 2006 for $30 million.

Magruder said the contractor is currently working on creating a bridge over the railroad tracks near Hazen. He added NDOT expects this portion of the project to take about a month.

Motorists will be able to pass slower vehicles after the overpass is completed, as there will be passing lanes.

"Once the crossing is complete, they will be able to switch traffic back and forth," he said.

After the overpass work is done, Road and Highway Builders will work on applying the final layer of paving.

Magruder said this paving resulting in all of Highway 50A lanes will take between two and four weeks.

Road and Highway Builders were given 265 working days to complete the project, but bad weather did not count against those days. The project began in February 2007.

The NDOT spokesman said the work slowed during the winter because of the cold weather and the earthwork that needed to be done.

He said one reason NDOT undertook this project was the number of fatalities.

From 1996 to 2001 there were six collisions on Highway 50A resulting in 10 fatalities.

Figures from the Nevada Highway Patrol also revealed that of the 12 fatal crashes in Churchill County during the last 24 months, nine were on either Highway 50 or Highway 50A.

NDOT hopes the future four-lane highway reduces the number of head-on collisions. Magruder added commuters, while being safer, might also have the opportunity to increase their speed.

The speed limit for the construction zone is 55 mph and increases to 65 mph after motorists exit the work area when traveling west toward Fernley.

Magruder said NDOT might increase the speed limit to 65 mph (from Leeteville to Fernley) once the work is completed.

"I personally think they should," Magruder said.

The project is the culmination of a $75 million, five-phase project that began in December 2005.

The first phase improved the section from Fernley to the Churchill County line. Work in Fernley included a roundabout and construction of a bridge over railroad tracks on U.S. Highway 95A, just north of the roundabout.