The Nevada Department of Transportation is refining design of a key element of the upcoming Phase 2B3 of Carson City Freeway construction to include a free right turn lane between southbound Carson Street and westbound U.S. 50 to Lake Tahoe. Original design for the last leg of the freeway called for southbound Carson Street traffic to stop at the traffic signal located at the Carson Street/U.S 50 Spooner junction before making a right turn to Lake Tahoe.
“The current free right hand turn lane at the intersection was originally eliminated from the design to minimize project costs and most cohesively fit within current and future intersection alignments,” NDOT Senior Project Manager Jeff Lerud said. “During our project public meeting in September, many community members expressed desire to keep a free turn lane to allow for easier acceleration in climbing the highway to Lake Tahoe. We listened, and are right now refining our design to include a low-speed right turn lane from Carson Street.”
The turn lane will lead into a 1,400-foot-long dedicated acceleration lane allowing for a direct merge traveling southbound from South Carson Street to U.S. 50 up toward Lake Tahoe. The turn lane will accommodate travel speeds of approximately 15 miles per hour. Inclusion of the new free right hand turn lane is estimated to add approximately $300,000 to project construction.
Carson City Freeway Phase 2B3 will open up the last leg of the freeway to traffic between Fairview Drive and U.S. 50 in south Carson City. With construction scheduled to begin in the first half of 2015, the final segment of freeway is projected to open to traffic in 2017. Further project information is available at www.ccfreeway.com or by dialing (775) 888-7000.
