Tribune file/Debra Reid - The intersection of North McCarran Boulevard and Pyramid Way is one of the area's most congested.
The RTC hosted the second of a bimonthly series of meetings Thursday to talk about the Pyramid Way and McCarran Boulevard intersection and what can be done about its traffic congestion problems.
“It was really poor planning,” said Dianne Buckley, a woman who attended the evening meeting with several of her friends. “You let Spanish Springs grow out of control and then you expect all those people to funnel down into a little hole?”
The RTC and Nevada Department of Transportation planners are in the process of developing a solution for the congested intersection. However, one could involve tearing down up to 70 homes to make way for a widened freeway system. A second alternative would create a flyover bridge that would bypass McCarran Boulevard traffic entirely. A third option on the table is to both widen the roads and create a structure to accommodate Pyramid Way north and southbound traffic. Each would involve right of way issues with area residents.
According to RTC updates, these options were selected after a pool of 16 different alternatives were examined.
At the RTC's last estimate, more than 60,000 cars travel through the intersection per day, many coming from the Spanish Springs area to get to Interstate 80. However, those numbers were calculated when economic times were good. A booming Spanish Springs may now be in a state of stagnation after the economy turned sour and its population may be less than originally estimated. As such, the RTC is in the process of reassessing traffic congestion in the area.
According to project manager Scott Gibson, the new estimates could be ready as early as July.
“There is no way you can totally do them both,” Sparks Mayor Geno Martini said of balancing the needs of Spanish Springs commuters with old Sparks residents. “It is not totally all old Sparks now. People need to get out there (to Spanish Springs). … Eventually we need to take some initiative and quit kicking the can around and get things done.”
Questioning the project
Some residents asked about the logic of reconstructing the Pyramid and McCCarran intersection when a Disc Drive to U.S. 395 connector road would alleviate some of the traffic.
The RTC’s response, among many others, is included in a fact sheet that can be accessed at www.rtcwashoe.com/Pyramid_McCarran/.
“Current population projections show the need for both projects to be built by 2030,” according to the written statement from the RTC. “The Pyramid Freeway US-395 Connection is being studied and developed concurrently with the Pyramid McCarran Intersection Improvement Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). An EIS for the Pyramid Freeway US-395 Connection was begun in 2007 and is about 50 percent complete. However, that project is much larger and more complex than the Pyramid McCarran Intersection Project and involves multiple jurisdictions and agencies.
“There are many challenges associated with the Pyramid Freeway US-395 Connection project. Planning level estimates indicate it will cost in the neighborhood of 10 times as much as the intersection project. Realistically, it will be 2025-2030 before a connection to US 395 from Pyramid Highway can be funded and constructed.”
Other questions touched on the planned northwest arterial that would connect Eagle Canyon Drive to Sun Valley.
The RTC’s response was that the road was too far north to currently do any good.
“The land use plans and population forecasts show that the short-term and mid-term travel demand is for congestion relief further south in the Pyramid corridor, culminating with the highest traffic volumes at the Pyramid/McCarran intersection,” according to project planner Scott Gibson.
Public meetings to continue
The public meetings will continue every other month, according to RTC spokeswoman Felicia Archer.
“We don’t have an ‘until,’ ” Archer said of the termination of the bimonthly meetings. “The theme is listening.”
The third meeting on the intersection will be held July 21 at 5 p.m. at John Ascuaga’s Nugget in the second floor meeting rooms. Gibson said that he hopes the updated traffic count numbers for the intersection will be ready to present at that meeting.
According to Gibson, the Queen Way intersection portion of the project has completely changed as a result of public input from such meetings.
“That came directly out of a charette with the Village Green residents and Immaculate Conception,” Gibson said. “Now it’s conceptual, and we have a long way to go before we complete it. … but that came out of that meeting.”
Village Green is a subdivision whose main access is Queen Way and Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is also accessed at the Queen Way intersection.
“This input is influencing the design as we move forward,” Archer said.
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