Carson City downtown street closures upcoming soon

Parts of Carson Street will be closed to traffic downtown the next two Sundays for a preliminary design assessment leading into the makeover project in the core of Carson City.

In addition, for the same reason Curry Street from Robinson to Musser streets and West 3rd Street from Carson to Curry will be closed from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

That is the same time frame — from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. — for the Carson Street closures both Sundays as well. The first of those is from William Street to Musser Street, and on Sunday, Feb. 22, the closure on Carson City’s main drag is from Robinson Street to 5th Street, according to Transportation Manager Patrick Pittenger. He gave those details to the Regional Transportation Commission during a meeting Wednesday.

The closure Sunday already in the published road report said detours will be marked with signs. But additional information on the closures Wednesday and the following Sunday will be in the next road report.

Pittenger said the work, as he understands it, is to get a three-dimensional scan for design work underway for the downtown revamp to calm traffic and invite more foot traffic. West 3rd will be closed to become a community plaza.

In addition, Pittenger told the RTC bids for the balance of the Interstate 580 freeway along a southeast city corridor from Fairview Drive to Spooner junction are still expected in March. He said part of the freeway project is no more than a week behind, according to what he has learned from the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT).

In addition, the transportation manager reported some of the parking lot near the Carson City Community Center and Carson Aquatic Facility will be closed beginning Monday to vehicles as a water pipe line project goes through Mills Park. He said the project will continue later down Washington Street to the city’s west side and improvements on that road will accompany the water line construction.

The RTC in an otherwise brief meeting named Commissioner Mark Kimbrough to serve as alternate to the commission chairman as the RTC representative to the Tahoe Transportation District’s board of directors.

The Carson Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) also met Wednesday and chose Ray Fiero of Lyon County as chairman, Jon Erb of Douglas County as vice chairman.

CAMPO includes members from the city’s RTC plus representatives from those nearby counties. Pittenger told CAMPO members NDOT has added resurfacing of Carson Street in 2016, from Fairview Drive to Spooner Junction, as part of the state agency’s commitment to do that as the freeway is completed and before turning that part of South Carson Street over to the city.