Irrigation work to precede Muller Lane construction

One of the first things that has to happen before Muller Lane Parkway can be completed across Park Cattle Holdings land is that the irrigation ditches have to be moved.

On Monday, members of the Water Conveyance Advisory Committee voted to recommend a plan to move the ditches from the east to the west side of the future route.

County Engineer Jeremy Hutchings said the road is almost through the 90 percent design phase.

Under an agreement with the county, the Parks will do the work and be reimbursed by the county.

“The most expedient way is to have the owner, who is the most knowledgeable about it, do the work himself,” Hutchings said.

The Parks are the only users of the ditch system across the property located north of Buckeye Road, so there wasn’t much for the advisory board to talk about.

Douglas County is obligated to complete the route over Park land by the end of 2025.

County Transportation Engineer Jon Erb said the contract to build the road will be advertised shortly with a goal to get the irrigation done first so the Parks don’t lose out on any of their water.

On Thursday, Douglas County commissioners agreed to extend the time to record the first phase of Ashland Park located north of Toler Lane.

Project representative Rob Anderson said the delay was due to ongoing litigation between the owner and the county over construction of the parkway across the property.

Portions of the road currently exist south of the Gardnerville Walmart, and just east of Highway 395 north of Minden.

The developer of Virginia Ranch is obligated to build the southern portion of the route from Grant Avenue to Toler Lane.

A route around Minden and Gardnerville roughly following the same path has been under discussion for 30 years.