Extension of Vista Grande short $1 million

A long-sought direct connection between Jacks Valley Road and Topsy Lane in the north county is $1 million short of funding.

Douglas County has had around $2.5 million set aside to build the extension of Vista Grande Boulevard north to Topsy after it dissolved the redevelopment area that helped build the commercial centers near the county line.

According to a report presented by County Traffic Engineer Jon Erb, the estimate for building the road is up to $3.5 million.

Erb is seeking input from commissioners on whether to continue to work on building Vista Grande or to allocate that money to some other project. Commissioners are scheduled to meet 10 a.m. Thursday at the Douglas County Courthouse in Minden.

The formerly U.S. Forest Service land between Jacks Valley Road and the northern boundary of the Topsy property was purchased last year at public auction. Part of that transaction was that Douglas would receive right of way for the road.

Erb said the county entered into a design contract with RO Anderson Engineers so the project could be advertised for construction.

“The original concept was to construct the roadway using the remaining RDA 1 funds,” Erb said. “However the 90-percent estimate has come in significantly over budget and there are insufficient funds available to construct the road as designed.”

Erb included seven potential options for commissioners to discuss, including reducing the project, putting it on hold or abandoning it and allocating the $2.5 million to other projects.

The road would not connect directly to Vista Grande south of Jacks Valley Road, but would be across from the entrance to the Target.

The property sold by the Forest Service in 2023 is zoned commercial and would end up extending the shopping area across the vacant land located west of Highway 395 south from Topsy to Jacks Valley Road.

The alignment of Vista Grande at Jacks Valley has been in place since 1980 and originally connected both ends of the road. The construction of the shopping center around 2000 changed Vista Grande north of Jacks Valley to its current right-of-way.