V&T project may be near bid

It was a little like Christmas Monday at Monday's meeting of the Nevada Commission for Reconstruction of the historic V&T Railway. The budget for the project is growing, and Mayor Ray Masayko wants to take the project to bid in 60 days.

A little red tape could extend that estimate to 180 days, but after working almost 11 years on project, no one on the commission was complaining.

"I hope it sounds as good to you as it does to me and we're all on the same page," said Janice Ayres of the Northern Nevada Railway Foundation. "We're starting to see it come together."

The proposed line will extend along a 17-mile route from Virginia City to Deer Run Road in Carson City, primarily along the original route.

The project has presented a patchwork of challenges, but progress is being made in a number of areas, including these discussed at Monday's meeting:

The Gold Hill Historical Society, a group seeking transport and store four miles of track donated from the Reno train trench by Granite construction, reached its goal.

The track project is now estimated to cost $125,000. Commission member John Farahi, owner of the Atlantis Casino & Resort, donated $20,000 to the project Monday.

The track removal will start in April and is expected to save the project about $500,000.

• Rights-of-way are one of the major challenges left. Final approval of nearly 10 miles of easements granted by the Bureau of Land Management came Monday.

• Land donated in 1997 by Reno sportswriter Ty Cobb, a long-time supporter of the project, was deeded to the commission. The parcel includes over 15,000 square feet of slope easement and 12,000 square feet of right-of-way.

• Lumos and Associates member Tom Young said the bridge project, will cost about $660,000, or $250,000 less than original estimates.

The bridge will cross Highway 50 near the Carson City/Lyon County border. The historic structure will be transported from Las Vegas as early as the second week in February.

• Masayko announced the acquisition of $1 million from the Nevada Commission on Tourism. The money requires matching funds.

Built between 1869 and 1872, the V&T Railroad supplied the mines of Virginia City with material and transported ore to the mills in the valley below.

Contact Susie Vasquez at svasquez@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.