State delays Carson bypass nine months; denies cost as issue

A bid date for Carson City's freeway has been delayed by nine months, Nevada Department of Transportation officials announced Thursday.

Issues relating to drainage and right of way costs south of Highway 50 East forced the state to push the bid date for Phase 1B to November 2001, a date which may change as well with future design challenges.

State Transportation Director Tom Stephens said there was no delay to the schedule, saying since May, November 2001 has been the target bid date. However, Thursday was the first public announcement that the the bid date and construction for the $136 million project had moved from February 2001.

While Stephens insists the delay to the Carson City freeway is related only to multiple design, drainage and land problems, an anonymous source familiar with the freeway said the delay is due to the state planning to cut $150 million from the construction program.

"Extending it out to November is quite a bit of time," the source said. "It's certainly not the design work that would slow it down. They're $150 million in the red to fund the projects they've got scheduled. This is a tremendous hit on the program. It affects a lot of entities expecting projects out of the program. Maybe the state board should take a closer look at what's going on over at NDOT."

Stephens said he has no knowledge of $150 million being cut from the construction program. The State Transportation Board meets next week and will be discussing a 5 year, $500 million a year spending plan, the largest the department's ever asked for, Stephens said. With the plan, they will have to decide which programs to fund, and part of that proposal, Stephens said, involves the state buying $100 million of bonds to help fund projects.

"We have more designs than we have money," Stephens said. "Having advanced designs is not a problem. It's a matter of scheduling. If the board decides, there will be a delay to some projects. It's much better to have projects on a shelf waiting for money than money waiting for plans."

Gov. Kenny Guinn also said Thursday he knew of no funding plans causing a delay to Phase 1B.

The anonymous source said bonding for projects is fine if the state plans on bonding for new projects, not for projects with dates attached to them.

"If you have projects that have schedules on them, you obviously thought you had money for them somewhere," the source said. "When you get ahead to 10 years, sure, you're guessing you'll have the money. But those programs that are on the annual work program and the three-year short range program, you're pretty sure you're going to have money for them. If the bonding is to fund new projects, that's fine. If not, the state's over-committed itself.

"Delays are something that happens to projects with unsurmountable problems, environmental problems, for example. It just doesn't happen to $150 million worth of projects."

In the last state transportation board meeting, a decision was postponed to increase funding for the freeway's first phase from about $92 million to $136 million. The issue should be addressed again July 13.

Stephens insisted the first phase freeway delay is not related to money.

"The Carson City freeway is not affected by the challenges of funding a very large program," Stephens said. "We have a whole lot of projects, and all of them have to be funded."

Stephens said several factors weigh in the delay. One is the state's dispute with the Federal Emergency Management Agency over the amount of land necessary for drainage structures. The land necessary for drainage is uncertain pending the outcome of negotiations on land and drainage costs between Guinn and Carson City Mayor Ray Masayko.

As for Phase 2 of the freeway, the five-mile, $160 million southern leg which extends from Highway 50 East to the Spooner Summit Junction, Stephens wouldn't commit to a start date for that project Thursday.

State officials have used 2007 as a time frame for completion of Phase 2, starting construction in 2004.

After Thursday's meeting, Stephens said five years is too long of a time frame to commit to a date.

"There's so much left to be done, it would be foolish to commit to a date," he said. "Look at what Phase 1 went through, butterflies, wetlands, design changes. There are a lot of unknowns between now and 2007. Certainly people have schedules they'd like to meet. But for me, as the director, to promise a project will be done in 2008, that's eight years from now. We can't make that kind of a commitment."

The state has no funding, except for about $13 million in preliminary engineering and right of way funds, committed to Phase 2. Stephens said the state doesn't plan on building half a freeway.

Construction on Phase 1A of the freeway is under way. The $14 million project includes drainage construction and the construction of bridges over College Parkway, Emerson Drive, Northgate Lane and Arrowhead Drive.

Phase 1B, construction expected to start in Feb. 2002, fills in the road between the bridges and at the moment, includes a bridge over Highway 50 East.

In a presentation before the Carson City Board of Supervisors on Thursday, Nevada Department of Transportation officials presented their plans for Carson City projects through 2010. The focus was mainly on smaller projects through 2002, with mention of the second phase of the freeway having no time frame.

Freeway Project Manager Jim Galleogs told Carson City supervisors Thursday, that Phase 1B is almost 60 percent designed, but had a two-month delay because of drainage design challenges.