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Author Topic: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?  (Read 23334 times)

roadfro

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #25 on: February 07, 2017, 01:15:13 AM »

BUMP for a project update...

NDOT reaches USA Parkway extension milestone - Reno Gazette-Journal, 2/4/2017.

Construction on the extension of USA Parkway has reached the halfway point. Roundabout at southern end junction with US 50 will start in spring, and project is still expected to complete late this year.

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Roadfro - AARoads Pacific Southwest moderator since 2010, Nevada roadgeek since 1983.

JasonOfORoads

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #26 on: February 07, 2017, 07:07:48 AM »

Glad it's not a T, bummed it's not an interchange.

Still curious to know what NDOT considers a "high-speed roundabout". I'm envisioning something with a quarter-mile radius and the ability to drive through it at highway speeds. I couldn't find any plans on the project site that showed this roundabout, thought I did find one for the Silver Springs roundabout, one for the old T-junction, and discussions about the difficulties of making it a grade separated interchange (hint: airport).

In lieu of speculation, here's how I'd make the roundabout work:
  • There will be two dedicated eastbound lanes that bypass the roundabout altogether, similar to the original T-junction plan.
  • Single lanes dedicated to westbound->northbound and southbound->westbound movements, similar to the Silver Springs roundabout. USA Parkway's south->west lane will function like an exit-only lane, peeling off the right. US-50 westbound's lane, however, would branch off from a new third lane a quarter-mile or so in length.
  • The roundabout itself will be two lanes wide for east-west traffic with single lane connectors for north-south movements.

This would ensure uninterrupted eastbound, west->north and south->west travel. However, if Silver Springs is planning on capitalizing from this highway's completion, more fluid south->east movements may be warranted (however that would work...).
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roadfro

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #27 on: February 07, 2017, 10:51:49 AM »

Glad it's not a T, bummed it's not an interchange.

Still curious to know what NDOT considers a "high-speed roundabout". I'm envisioning something with a quarter-mile radius and the ability to drive through it at highway speeds. I couldn't find any plans on the project site that showed this roundabout, thought I did find one for the Silver Springs roundabout, one for the old T-junction, and discussions about the difficulties of making it a grade separated interchange (hint: airport).

In lieu of speculation, here's how I'd make the roundabout work:
  • There will be two dedicated eastbound lanes that bypass the roundabout altogether, similar to the original T-junction plan.
  • Single lanes dedicated to westbound->northbound and southbound->westbound movements, similar to the Silver Springs roundabout. USA Parkway's south->west lane will function like an exit-only lane, peeling off the right. US-50 westbound's lane, however, would branch off from a new third lane a quarter-mile or so in length.
  • The roundabout itself will be two lanes wide for east-west traffic with single lane connectors for north-south movements.

This would ensure uninterrupted eastbound, west->north and south->west travel. However, if Silver Springs is planning on capitalizing from this highway's completion, more fluid south->east movements may be warranted (however that would work...).

Check out the Public Meeting Handout from 8/11/2016. It includes a graphic depicting the proposed roundabout layout and another showing a proposed aesthetic treatment. Looks like a fairly standard roundabout with two circulating lanes most of the way (but does add a third lane eastbound to handle the east>north movement).

Your idea for the roundabout ignores the fact that Opal Avenue (where USA Parkway connects to US 50) is a 4-legged intersection, so can't have the eastbound bypass lanes you proposed. If that limitation wasn't present, I think your idea would be great.


I didn't realize the USA Parkway connection (utilizing Opal Avenue) was so close to the Silver Springs Airport runway... Another reason they should have aligned the connection with the Ramsey-Weeks Cutoff–that would have been far enough from the airport that a diamond interchange could have been constructed.
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JasonOfORoads

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #28 on: February 08, 2017, 03:06:12 PM »

Your idea for the roundabout ignores the fact that Opal Avenue (where USA Parkway connects to US 50) is a 4-legged intersection, so can't have the eastbound bypass lanes you proposed. If that limitation wasn't present, I think your idea would be great.

I see. I threw out that idea without looking at the map. However, I looked up the satellite view of the area, and unless I'm missing something*, the Opal intersection doesn't look like that big an obstacle to overcome. There's a and lotta nothing out there, so just make Opal dead-end at the NE corner of the airport property. That would free up the necessary space to allow the eastbound through lanes.

I didn't realize the USA Parkway connection (utilizing Opal Avenue) was so close to the Silver Springs Airport runway... Another reason they should have aligned the connection with the Ramsey-Weeks Cutoff–that would have been far enough from the airport that a diamond interchange could have been constructed.

You're right that the alignment would line up so much better with the cutoff. Good ol' NDOT. I hope there was a good reason. That said, unless I'm missing something* again, what if we shifted the southern terminus slightly west to the vast expanse of nothing between Onyx and Opal and made it a trumpet interchange? You could then keep Opal as-is but reconfigure Bowers Ave to intersect Opal instead of US-50. Twain south of 50 would be dead-ended. You could even depress 50's grade a little to minimize vertical clearance issues with the airport.

My only sticking point is Bowers' intersection with the Parkway. There's a host of options:
  • 4-way intersection at the current location
  • 4-way intersection shifted northward a little
  • An over- or underpass
  • Blocking the road on each side of the Parkway
  • RIRO on each side of the Parkway
  • An interchange
  • A roundabout (ha!)
  • A compact complicated Spaghetti Bowl-style interchange that is combined with the US-50 interchange because f*ck you
Last one aside, I'd probably go with dead-ending Bowers on both sides, removing its intersection with 50, and extending it east to meet Opal instead. If demand warrants otherwise, I'd recommend RIRO but still have Bowers meet Opal.

*other than things like ROW acquisition and redesign costs
« Last Edit: February 08, 2017, 03:09:20 PM by JasonOfORoads »
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Kniwt

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #29 on: May 19, 2017, 09:01:16 AM »

Today's edition of the Reno Gazette-Journal has a new video showing construction progress.

Quote
The 12-mile, $76 million USA Parkway extension project is getting closer to completion. Ames Construction, the contractor working on the Nevada Department of Transportation project, says the road that will connect the I-80 to U.S. 50 should be done by the end of the year. Ames Construction provided the aerial footage for this video.

http://www.rgj.com/videos/news/2017/05/18/getting-gigafactory-get-easier-later-year/101851342/
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gonealookin

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #30 on: July 18, 2017, 08:29:55 PM »

Enough work has been completed on the roundabout that US 50 traffic is flowing through it as of today, rather than detouring around it.

Quote
U.S. 50 speed limits through the roundabout will permanently be lowered as low as 25 mph.

Considering how out in the middle of nothing the roundabout is...grrrrrr...
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sparker

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #31 on: July 24, 2017, 03:03:46 AM »

Enough work has been completed on the roundabout that US 50 traffic is flowing through it as of today, rather than detouring around it.

Quote
U.S. 50 speed limits through the roundabout will permanently be lowered as low as 25 mph.

Considering how out in the middle of nothing the roundabout is...grrrrrr...

Silver Springs, like Fallon to the east, has become a retirement mecca due to relatively low housing costs, a moderate climate (but it does get a bit cold in the winter east of the Sierras), and proximity to the Reno-Carson-Tahoe area for amenities.  Slowing down traffic on US 50 would likely be one of the measures taken to "convert" this area from a basically rural environment to a more densely populated exurb.  I'm just surprised roundabouts haven't popped up (yet) on US 395 in the Gardnerville/Minden area, which has been experiencing similar growth patterns for a couple of decades. 
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roadfro

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #32 on: July 26, 2017, 03:40:44 AM »

Update: According to the NDOT project page, there will be a ribbon cutting for USA Pkwy on August 28th and the road is expected to open to traffic on September 8th.
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Kniwt

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Infinity Highway (was: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?)
« Reply #33 on: August 29, 2017, 04:35:36 PM »

http://elkodaily.com/mining/road-projects-to-help-comstock-mining-sell-assets/article_975a4e25-a1a9-554c-bea4-69dbbd244788.html

Quote
As the Nevada Department of Transportation celebrated the completion of the new Infinity Highway, formerly U.S.A. Parkway, on Monday, Comstock Mining Inc. announced that the infrastructure improvements will help the company sell its nonmining-related assets in the area.

Three months ahead of schedule, NDOT completed the $75.9 million project and a large multilane roundabout at the intersection of the Infinity Highway, or State Route 439, and U.S. Route 50. The roadway improvements are in the vicinity of Comstock Mining’s certified, shovel-ready, 98-acre Comstock Industrial Site and senior water rights in Silver Springs.

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sparker

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #34 on: August 31, 2017, 04:10:36 PM »

And the next thing to cross the desk of NDOT's legal department is a suit and/or cease-and-desist from Infinity Speakers for using their name and logo (unless they prearranged waivers).  Infinity's owned by Harman International; and they're one of the more litigious home-electronics companies around (they sued a company for whom I was working back in the '70's).  Let's see if the new highway name persists!
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ilpt4u

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #35 on: September 01, 2017, 12:17:31 AM »

And the next thing to cross the desk of NDOT's legal department is a suit and/or cease-and-desist from Infinity Speakers for using their name and logo (unless they prearranged waivers).  Infinity's owned by Harman International; and they're one of the more litigious home-electronics companies around (they sued a company for whom I was working back in the '70's).  Let's see if the new highway name persists!
Can one really Trademark a Mathematical symbol, such as the Infinity sign? Heck, SBC's (before they bought old AT&T and changed their name to AT&T) logo was an Infinity sign for years in the 90s/2000s
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roadfro

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #36 on: September 01, 2017, 10:39:00 AM »

Interestingly, the Reno Gazette-Journal article I saw the other day made no mention of renaming USA Pkwy as Infinity Hwy...
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sparker

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #37 on: September 02, 2017, 12:06:19 AM »

And the next thing to cross the desk of NDOT's legal department is a suit and/or cease-and-desist from Infinity Speakers for using their name and logo (unless they prearranged waivers).  Infinity's owned by Harman International; and they're one of the more litigious home-electronics companies around (they sued a company for whom I was working back in the '70's).  Let's see if the new highway name persists!
Can one really Trademark a Mathematical symbol, such as the Infinity sign? Heck, SBC's (before they bought old AT&T and changed their name to AT&T) logo was an Infinity sign for years in the 90s/2000s

Actually, the later iterations of the Infinity Speaker logo showed the symbol not as equilateral from left-to-right, but with the right side raised in a "swoop"; the "traditional" Infinity symbol was only used in the earlier products from that company (pre-about 1984 or so, when they were sold to Harman).  That difference alone would be enough to allow trademark of the variance but not the original/traditional -- so the symbol on the BGS may indeed be safe from legal issues.  Now the name itself -- Harman did threaten to sue Nissan Motors when they first announced their now-"Infiniti" brand as an upscale rival to Lexus and Acura -- hence the particular spelling of the brand.  Like I said earlier, very litigious! 

Ironically, Harman has of late downgraded their Infinity division into a label for lower-priced home-theater speakers; the company's long-time assault on the state-of-the-art in the field was abandoned in the early 1990's when company founder Arnie Nudell resigned when Harman cut capital & staff for the division (scuttlebutt was they did so just to get him and his huge salary to quit!).  But in the meantime they had opened a new high-end speaker division (Revel) and a brand-new plant in Taiwan to build those units.  But re Infinity -- it's technically still operational, so Harman may or may not elect to protect their trademark.
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nevadabil

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #38 on: October 18, 2017, 03:29:09 PM »

The new USA Parkway SR 439 has reduced the travel distance from Yerington to Reno from 85+ miles to 69 miles using Ramsey cutoff to USA Parkway making  the time shorter to about 1 hr 10 min from the almost 1 1/2 hr drive before.   :clap:
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kdk

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #39 on: October 18, 2017, 06:11:57 PM »

The new USA Parkway SR 439 has reduced the travel distance from Yerington to Reno from 85+ miles to 69 miles using Ramsey cutoff to USA Parkway making  the time shorter to about 1 hr 10 min from the almost 1 1/2 hr drive before.   :clap:

Interesting- I also realized it works as a Reno-Las Vegas route as well, using this, along with ALT 95 cuts the route to 438 miles from 445 using 80/50/95 through Fernley and Fallon.  Not that the distance is huge, but I'm thinking avoiding the truck traffic, stoplights, slow speed limits and roundabouts through Fernley and Fallon.  This is all assuming using the Ramsey Cutoff road through Silver Springs is reasonably fast.  Having just done the drive down 95 I would have used this route but didn't show up as an option in Google.
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nevadabil

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #40 on: October 19, 2017, 11:47:02 AM »

The completed USA Parkway hy 439 doesn’t show up on google or imaps at all but does show up mostly on my windows 10 map program on my desktop, stopping just short of the connection with US 50 where the roundabout would be. It doesn’t show up on google earth either. BTW the speed on Ramsey cut off is 45 but is about 1.7 miles shorter than US 95A to US 50, where you have to slow down and stop. This route takes off about 15 miles off the commute from Yerington to Reno 69 miles from Goldfield ave Yerington to I80 / I580 interchange in Reno.
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kdk

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #41 on: October 19, 2017, 05:36:46 PM »

The completed USA Parkway hy 439 doesn’t show up on google or imaps at all but does show up mostly on my windows 10 map program on my desktop, stopping just short of the connection with US 50 where the roundabout would be. It doesn’t show up on google earth either. BTW the speed on Ramsey cut off is 45 but is about 1.7 miles shorter than US 95A to US 50, where you have to slow down and stop. This route takes off about 15 miles off the commute from Yerington to Reno 69 miles from Goldfield ave Yerington to I80 / I580 interchange in Reno.

Thank you for the info, I will use this next time!  I'm thinking it will overall save about 45 minutes on the drive all things considered.
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gonealookin

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #42 on: March 27, 2019, 01:14:53 PM »

At the south end of NV 439, this week marks the start of construction on US 50 which will complete the four-laning of that highway from I-580 in Carson City to US 95A in Silver Springs.  The construction area is about 9 miles long, about 6.5 miles to the west of the existing US 50/NV 439 roundabout plus the 2.5 miles between NV 439 and US 95A.  Construction runs from now until fall 2020, at which point the existing four-way stop at US 50/US 95A in Silver Springs will have been replaced by, yes, another roundabout.

NDOT info on the "US 50 Phase 2" widening project
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Kniwt

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #43 on: March 27, 2019, 07:42:57 PM »

At the south end of NV 439, this week marks the start of construction on US 50 which will complete the four-laning of that highway from I-580 in Carson City to US 95A in Silver Springs.

All nice and good, but I would have much rather seen upgrades first to the segment between US 95A and US 50A in Fallon. That part of the highway is on substandard alignment, and much of it even lacks paved shoulders. (The two-lane segment west of Silver Springs at least had good shoulders already.)

Other than the obvious safety hazards for motorists, as it is now, US 50 east of US 95A is pretty much no-go for solo bicyclists (even though some group events use it), and there's no other reasonably safe and direct route to Fallon. (95A to Fernley is even worse!)
« Last Edit: March 27, 2019, 09:53:49 PM by Kniwt »
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gonealookin

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Re: USA Parkway - Nevada State Route 439?
« Reply #44 on: March 27, 2019, 10:42:18 PM »

I'll be interested to see some traffic counts that show the effect of the opening of NV 439 on US 50 east of Silver Springs.  You're right about conditions on that stretch of road, but as of the 2017 traffic count there just wasn't enough traffic there to move improvements there onto any priority list.

Unless those numbers show a big spike in traffic, I'd guess there won't be anything more than miniscule improvements until and unless there's a firm commitment to upgrade the Reno to Las Vegas connection and the route chosen were to go through the Fallon area, whether that's Interstate 11 or sub-Interstate level upgrading of US 95.
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