| ||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
-News Articles/Editorials/Letters to the Editor-
6/17/2002
|
What: Freeway walk When: 6 p.m. today Where: Meet at the Arrowhead Drive overpass, Carson City Information: 887-2100 A third annual organized walk today along the path of the unfinished Carson City freeway will give residents their first opportunity to stand atop four completed bridges. “There’s been a lot of changes in three years,” Carson City Supervisor Robin Williamson said Monday. “We’re making positive steps toward the completion.” Two years ago, the city and Nevada Department of Transportation were at odds over landscaping along the freeway route as well as the inclusion of a bicycle and pedestrian path. Those differences prompted Williamson and a bicycling- and walking-advocacy group called Muscle Powered to organize an educational walk along the freeway right-of-way. The issues have since been resolved, but Williamson said there are still benefits to holding an annual walk. “It’s easy to see things on a map. When you get out there, it’s more personalized,” Williamson said. Anne Macquarie of Muscle Powered agreed. “NDOT has been holding public meetings since the design phase, but it’s hard to visualize something just from plans,” Macquarie said Monday. NDOT spokesman Scott Magruder said it would be good for people to walk on top of the project’s four completed overpasses. “This is the first time we’re allowing people up on the bridges,” Magruder said Monday. “Before, you could just walk the right-of-way. This will give you an idea of how high the freeway will be.” The walk only includes the first 3.8-mile phase, which will stretch from U.S. 395 at the bottom of Lakeview Hill east to U.S. 50 East. People are asked to meet at the Arrowhead Drive overpass at 6 p.m. After walking the length of the route, public transportation shuttles will return people to their cars. Construction crews earlier this year finished work on a $14 million project to construct four bridges over Arrowhead Drive, Northgate Lane, Emerson Drive and College Parkway. Construction on the next stage of work, dubbed Phase 1B, is set to begin early next year and conclude about two to three years thereafter. That $95 million project will complete the first 3.8 miles of freeway. The second phase, from U.S. 50 East to the U.S. 50 West turnoff on the southern end of town, won’t start for a few years, and likely won’t be finished until about 2010. Much of that leg be on ground level, going under cross streets instead of over them. |
