Project Engineer Wes Osmer stands next to one of the last roadwork signs along Main Street in Gardnerville on Monday.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
The complete reopening of Main Street through Gardnerville on Aug. 23 turned what was a frustrating half-hour trip into one that lasted six minutes, both ways.
There may be some additional finishing work, like the installation of flashing pedestrian crosswalk underway at KingsLane late last week.
“We’re still waiting for the rectangular beacon arm for KingsLane,” Project Manager Wes Osmer said on Monday. “We’re working with the right of way and trying to get everything to fit, so we decided to go with that big pole.”
Completing the sidewalk south of KingsLane has been a longtime goal for the Town of Gardnerville, as was hooking up the drainage to the basin under Gardnerville Station and then on to Martin Slough.
Tight quarters were one of the bigger issues Sierra Nevada Construction and the state had to figure out during the project.
“The reason this one is so hard is because it’s U.S. 395 and we don’t have a lot of right-of-way,” he said. “It’s just very congested and that was the biggest issue.”
There is a second phase of the project that will deal with additional sidewalk and accessibility improvements, as well as remaining roadway drainage, signals, and lighting enhancements.
Osmer said the goal will be to make those improvements for Minden and Gardnerville.
“We’re working on a grant by partnering with Main Street, Douglas and the town,” he said. “We might try to do the whole corridor, so it’s not just the Gardnerville side of the Minden side.”
Speaking of the Minden side, at some point in the near future, the state plans to repave Highway 395 from Ironwood Drive to Carson City, including Airport Road.
“I don’t think it will be as bad,” he said. “It depends on what we have to do on Cradlebaugh. That’s still up in the air.”
Work on the highway has been underway since fall 2023 with major reconstruction starting on June 12 and continuing through last week.
