Another Opinion: Safety on Highway 395 south of Carson City needs improvement before bypass opens

This editorial appeared in Wednesday, Feb. 27, edition of The Record-Courier.

News that the final phase of the Carson City bypass could begin by 2016 poses some interesting questions for transportation infrastructure in Douglas County.

Having the freeway will shorten the commute for folks traveling from northern Douglas County to Reno by at least four traffic lights.

It will also mean that the first stop light for southbound traffic between Susanville and Minden will be at Clear Creek Road. Count the three traffic signals at Topsy, Jacks Valley and Mica Road.

Traffic on Highway 395 between Carson and Douglas goes on six lanes until Jacks Valley Road, when the highway drops to four lanes.

That we have an accident of some sort every week on that stretch of highway is testament enough to what a mess it is. Having the freeway empty out right there isn't going to improve things.

One big accident at Highway 395 and Topsy, and the only way to get around is a rough dirt road that may do more damage than good for motorists.

Douglas County has three years to work out solutions for the bottleneck, and we feel that a key would be the improvement of Vista Grande from Topsy to Jacks Valley Road. We know the county is looking at this project.

It's time to start planning so that when the freeway bypass arrives on our doorstep, we can be ready to act.