City undertakes road improvement projects

Orange cones and hard hats have appeared along West A Street.

The road reaching from Maine Street to Venturacci Lane is receiving a complete reconstruction as part of the Consolidated Roadway Rehabilitation Project. Also included are North Taylor Street coming off of Williams Avenue, North Whitaker Lane, Rancho Drive and a small section of Carson Street.

According to the city’s Public Works Director Brian Byrd, a huge increase in traffic on West A Street in the last five years has caused it to deteriorate faster than normal. When it was built in the 1960s, it was not expected to handle the same heavy traffic it does now that leads to the post office, sheriff’s office, county buildings and the Safeway retail area.

West A Street, North Whitaker Lane, North Taylor Street and Carson Street will all be receiving a new curb, gutter, sidewalk, drainage, a thicker Type 2 subgrade base and thicker road section. Some areas will also have improved landscaping, street lighting and on-street parking.

Rancho Drive will retain its current neighborhood design and only be repaved.

Originally West A Street was singled out as a project but no bids were received. Currently, Byrd said contractors have limited capacity and workforce and so prefer larger projects. Multiple street projects were combined and A&K Earthmovers of Fallon offered the winning bid at $3.25 million.

Chief of Staff Bob Erickson said that partial funding for this project came from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and regional gas taxes. Preventative maintenance measures are cheaper than reconstruction and had been used until the roads became too damaged to repair. During the past year over two million square feet of city road have been treated with slurry seal and crack seal, among other strategies.

“Mayor Tedford and the entire council have been very, very supportive of maintenance and trying to improve our streets,” Erickson said.

Long lead times for materials, a nationwide labor shortage and highly saturated ground from wintry weather may cause delays, but the project is expected to be completed this spring.