Expansion of Fairview Drive project in Carson City approved

The project to reconstruct Fairview Drive is being expanded to include utility work.

The Regional Transportation Commission on Wednesday approved an agreement between Carson City and the Nevada Department of Transportation and authorized the RTC chair to amend the $620,293 agreement up to $710,000.

The project is being paid for with Surface Transportation Block Grant funds, about $80,000 from the Silver Sage Drive project, which came in under budget, and $584,696 in Water Utility money, which is being used to replace a waterline.

The Fairview Drive project includes sidewalk construction, accessibility ramps, stormwater improvements, and mill and overlay of the road between Carson and Roop streets.

The RTC also approved an agreement with NDOT for improvements on Airport Road. That project, too, is combining utility work, a sewer line replacement, and road reconstruction.

“We’re trying to better align utility and road work so we only cut into asphalt once,” said Lucia Maloney, transportation manager.

The city’s annual road striping was approved. Intermountain Slurry Seal, Inc., under a $241,087.37 contract approved by the RTC, will paint approximately 1.3 million linear feet of roadway throughout the city.

During public comment, Jerry Vaccaro, who operates Capitol City Liquidators on South Carson Street, asked when the city was going to decide what to do with the rights of way fronting Carson Street along the upcoming road project. Along with the 2-mile stretch of road, the city is taking over a patchwork of rights of way, many that are leased by the businesses.

“I need to get some answers if I am going to go through with real estate planning and development. We’re in limbo on this,” said Vaccaro. “When is the decision going to be made?”

Vaccaro, and his wife Ann Sullivan, are in the process of liquidating and closing their business as they work with the city to bring it into compliance with the city’s outdoor storage code.

City representatives have said the city is waiting to finish design of the South Carson Street project, which is now about 60 percent complete, before it can determine what to do with the rights of way.

Todd Reese, deputy district attorney and counsel for the RTC, said decisions on the rights of way will be approved by the Board of Supervisors and not come before the RTC.