Lunchtime traffic on Main Street through Gardnerville was backed up almost to Minden on Nov. 9. Work could be done next week, depending on the weather.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
Utility work that has reduced Highway 395 to one lane through most of Gardnerville backs up traffic for more than a mile during busy times.
But travelers may get a break from road work the day after Thanksgiving, which is the anticipated end of construction for the season, according to nvroads.com.
Workers have been trenching along the south side of the highway and installing conduit for fiber optic for the last two months.
In addition to the trenching, workers have been digging across Highway 395 in the S Curve to connect a flood control basin to drainage infrastructure on the other side of the highway.
The drainage work was the original intent for Gardnerville’s acquisition of a former gas station back in 2013. Once the basin is connected, work on paving Gardnerville Station’s parking lot can begin.
This last few months have been a preview of the work planned to begin next spring between First Street in Minden and Waterloo Lane in Gardnerville.
It has been 20 years since the last time that stretch of road has been paved, and the work will require digging up to 18 inches of the roadway base in places.
Drainage work delayed construction on Highway 395 through the Pine Nut Mountains. That work could also be underway next year if the bids go through.
