$166 million transportation plan set for Carson City region

Short-term transportation goals for the Carson City region include more than $166 million in transportation projects that have federal funding or will seek federal funding.

On Feb. 8, the Carson Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) approved the 2023-26 Transportation Improvement Plan that includes 25 projects spread across Carson City, Lyon and Douglas counties.

“CAMPO is responsible for carrying out transportation planning activities within the Carson metropolitan planning area,” Carson City Transportation Manager Chris Martinovich said by email. “It does this in part through the long-range regional transportation plan (RTP), and the short-range transportation improvement program (TIP).

“The TIP is a programming document that establishes regional transportation project priorities over the next four years. The TIP does not represent all the projects in the Carson City area. Transportation projects included in the TIP are those that are federally-funded or are of CAMPO regional significance. The TIP document is developed in collaboration with Carson City, Douglas County, Lyon County, the Washoe Tribe, the Nevada Department of Transportation and federal partners.”

Of the total funding amount, more than $80 million is for NDOT projects. Road preservation projects on Highway 50 in east Carson, east of Dayton and up Spooner Summit are some of the big-ticket NDOT items. Carson City is overseeing nine of the prioritized projects, while CAMPO itself is overseeing 11 including at least one in Douglas.

Projects in Carson City include a traffic signal and intersection improvements at Appion Way and South Carson Street with funding of nearly $1.7 million; design of a new Jump Around Carson center downtown, on North Plaza Street, for more than $300,000; a 2.3-mile multi-use path along I-580 from Colorado Street to Edmonds Sports Complex with funding of around $1.6 million, and the East William Complete Streets project currently in design. The latter has total project funding of around $18.6 million. In Douglas County, $4 million has been identified for reconstructing Johnson Lane from Heybourne Road to Vicky Lane.

Martinovich said the TIP draws from the regional transportation plan. Projects are prioritized with a focus on safety, sustainability, reliability, multi-modal development and integration of the entire transportation system as well as other factors.

“One project is not specifically more or less important than another,” Martinovich said. “The TIP is a list of short-term project priorities. Local agencies like Carson City work with CAMPO and NDOT to seek out federal funding and target different projects for different types of federal funding. What is important is to have a variety of project types like roadway reconstruction projects, multi-modal pathways, safety projects, and traffic signal projects in the TIP in order to keep the door open to receiving federal funds. The city and CAMPO have been very successful using small amounts of local funding to leverage large amounts of federal funding for our projects.”

Martinovich said TIP projects are not expected to be completed in four years but to have funding approved for spending.

Two projects in the TIP are listed as “future” because funding has not been identified.

“Ash Canyon Road and the North Carson Street projects are large, complicated, and expensive projects,” said Martinovich. “All projects in the TIP planned over the next four years must be fully funded, or have funding identified. Funding for these two projects has not been identified, which is why they are listed as ‘future,’ but they remain priorities for Carson City.”

Estimated to take more than $14 million, the Ash Canyon Road project would rehabilitate pavement and strengthen infrastructure from Ormsby Boulevard to open space roughly a mile west.

“The Ash Canyon Road project is being targeted for a Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) grant,” said Martinovich. “This discretionary grant program is awarded to roads that provide public access to public lands. Carson City was successful on FLAP grants in the past for Kings Canyon Road and Sierra Vista Lane. It is unclear when the next round of FLAP grant applications will be released, which is why the project is classified as a future project.”

The North Carson Street project would be the last of the major Complete Streets projects in the city and would entail improvements along North Carson between William Street and Medical Parkway.

“Complete Streets” is a transportation initiative that aims to integrate pedestrian amenities into traffic corridors and make access to town centers easier for all users. Downtown, South Carson Street, and East William Street are the other Complete Streets projects, Martinovich said.

“CAMPO, in coordination with Carson City, will be completing a corridor study in the next couple of years to begin to identify project improvements,” he said. “Like the other Complete Streets projects, the North Carson Street project will likely include safety improvements, additional multi-modal features like sidewalks and bike facilities, utility improvements, roadway reconstruction, and landscaping/aesthetics. Funding for this project will likely require federal funds similar to the TIGER grant received for South Carson Street, and the RAISE grant received for William Street.”

For information about projects in Carson, visit https://www.carson.org/government/departments-g-z/public-works/carson-proud.