| ||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
-News Articles/Editorials/Letters to the Editor-
3/15/2006
|
The efforts of a local group are coming to fruition alongside the Carson City Freeway as plans for landscaping the barren slopes through town get a $2 million boost. "We started this group in 1998 because there was never going to be any landscaping for the freeway," said Marie Bresch, vice president of Gardeners Reclaiming Our Waysides. "There were lots of glitches along the way but we feel very fortunate now to know that a little organization can do a lot," she said. The group has worked for nearly seven years and has grown from a handful of concerned residents to about 200 supporters, Bresch said. But with the help of U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the determination of GROW President Mary Fischer, a $2 million federal freeway landscaping grant was awarded last fall, Bresch said. Long before the big money was announced, the design had already taken shape. The Nevada Department of Transportation worked closely with Carson City and GROW to create a design concept which would be developed in stages, said freeway project manager Jim Gallegos. One of the features of the vegetation will be to harmonize with the sound walls. A person facing east will see a Great Basin design with landscaping consistent with a desert environment. Someone facing west will see sound walls with a mountain design and vegetation to match, Gallegos said. The state nearly has completed the slope contour work for Phase 1, and added water taps and power hookups for the city's future irrigation systems when it takes over maintenance. Carson City Park Planner Vern Krahn said the landscaping will be "bio-regional," native and natural. "We've focused on the interchanges and our neighborhood gateways. We wanted (the landscaping) to look like the Reno-Tahoe International Airport's with a Carson City twist," Krahn said. "We have some very strong design concepts. We've put some real thought into formal aspects with a natural look," he said. Motorists can see boulders arranged in many places along the route, and Bresch said seedlings are starting to sprout, including native wildflowers, bitter brush, sage and rabbit brush. Krahn said the second leg of the freeway landscaping was approved in January, but the total cost for both phases is likely to be around $5 million. The city will seek bids for the project. |
