The smell of asphalt in the morning

Commuters were met by a fresh layer of asphalt on the northbound lanes of Main Street in Gardnerville on Monday morning, an indication that perhaps the end of the marathon reconstruction on Highway 395 might just be in sight.

Workers completely dug up the highway, which was last repaved in 2003.

Just preparation for the paving job has been snarling traffic through town for the better part of a year.

We’ve been watching this very closely. We don’t know anyone who thought Main Street was just fine the way it was.

We didn’t go a single year over the past four without having some prospect that paving would start the very next year, only for it to be delayed, again.

There were a lot of complicating factors, but one of the main issues was the scope of the project.

One of those was the 1920 paving that featured concrete road surface along the current route.

It was front page news on Aug. 20, 1920, when grading stakes were set for the route to pave the entire width of Main Street, including curbing and gutter.

Almost 104 years later, there was a lot of preliminary curb and gutter work done between Waterloo and Gilman Avenue.

That work included softening the S-Curve by Gardnerville Station and finishing the sidewalk south of the entrance to Kings Lane, something we’ve been talking about for nearly a decade.

But the construction was a struggle, particularly for those businesses along Main Street, who’ve had to figure out how to adapt to the highway being dug up during business hours.

We wouldn’t expect most merchants were very happy with the work and we’ve received some indication that’s true.

But we’ve also heard from folks who recognize that having a newly paved Main Street will be a benefit. We credit Main Street Director Jen Tune for putting as positive spin on the project as humanly possible under the circumstances.

School starts on Aug. 19, ess than a month away, and the goal for highway work is to be done before the buses start rolling, particularly to Gardnerville Elementary and Carson Valley Middle schools.

The Third Thursday Wine Walk will be Aug. 15, and hopefully merchants, residents and motorists will all have something to celebrate.