South Carson Street project planned for $10.3 million

The project to redo South Carson Street now has a price tag: $10.3 million.

The figure is a rough, planning level estimate and likely higher than what the project will end up costing.

“There’s 25 percent contingency in there. Hopefully, it will come in much lower than $10 million,” said Brad Bonkowski, chair of the Regional Transportation Commission, at the commission’s monthly meeting Wednesday.

The estimate comes from Kimley Horn, Carson City’s design consultant on the complete streets project that will take Carson Street between Fairview Drive and Highway 50 West down to five lanes and add a pedestrian and bicycle path.

The city is taking over that portion of the road from the Nevada Department of Transportation once the freeway bypass at Spooner Junction opens.

The ribbon cutting for that is set for July 22, when pedestrians and bike riders will be able to ride the new freeway extension before it opens to auto traffic.

As part of the road transfer, NDOT is giving the city $5.1 million to be spent on the project to redo South Carson Street.

To further fund it, the city has $1 million from the 1/8 cent sales tax for infrastructure, $750,000 from the Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation Alternative Program, and money from the Surface Transportation Program Block Grant from the federal government through NDOT.

At the meeting, the RTC approved a cooperative agreement with NDOT to add 12 battery backups and 239 retro-reflective backplates at traffic signals throughout the city.

The dozen battery backups are being installed by the city this year to signals at the most highly trafficked intersections.

The RTC also approved a cooperative agreement with NDOT to install a rectangular rapid flashing beacon on Highway 50 at Silver State Street for safer pedestrian crossing.

The same type of beacon is located on Stewart Street near the Nevada Legislature.

The RTC meeting was the last one for Transportation Manager Patrick Pittenger, who is leaving this month to become the executive director of the Merced County Association of Governments in California.

“Patrick, you’re going to be very hard to replace,” said City Manager Nick Marano. “You’re one of a handful of people who makes what people see here in Carson City actually work.”