Highway 208 through Wilson Canyon reopens

After being closed by a rockslide for more than two months, Highway 208 through Wilson Canyon reopened fully on Friday, state officials said.

The main route between Smith and Mason valleys in Lyon County had been open to one alternating lane of traffic during commute hours between Hudson Aurora Road and State Route 339 through the Wilson Canyon. 

As of 5 a.m. Friday, both lanes of roadway are now open to traffic 24-7. Speed limits will be temporarily reduced in the area until a final top layer of pavement is placed over existing base paving, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation.

Drivers should anticipate brief lane closures and traffic restrictions over future weeks as final roadway paving and striping is completed.

On Jan. 10, a landslide and rockfall fell across roughly 400 feet of State Route 208 through the Wilson Canyon, between Smith Valley and Yerington. The following morning, NDOT geotechnical engineers conducted an initial evaluation of the area, finding that the rockface remained unstable. 

NDOT then partnered with Q&D Construction for emergency repairs. Since that time, rockfall removal experts have scaled roadside slopes to remove unstable rock and crews worked to remove 500 truckloads of landslide material which fell across the road, equaling nearly 15,000 cubic yards of landslide material removed. Over recent weeks, nearly 250 feet of rockfall reduction netting has been installed on the roadside slope to further reduce extent of future major rockfall.

Approximately 1,800 drivers travel through the area each day.

Heavy precipitation from recent winter storms continues to have potential to bring water, snow, rock, mud and other potentially dangerous conditions to roadways regionwide. NDOT reminds motorists to avoid unnecessary travel, and to drive attentively and slowly in inclement conditions. Winter driving safety tips are available at dot.nv.gov/winter. Motorists can visit NVRoads.com before driving for current highway conditions and controls.