Pyramid Highway/US-395 Connector Project

[Plutonic Panda]

This is a pretty significant project with the first phase starting in May and wrapping up in 2025. It looks like they will be build a new terrain expressway or freeway to connect to US-395. I'm surprised I haven't heard of it. It will do a lot to address mobility north of Reno which needs it as it can be awkward to drive to and from certain places.

It will also widen Pyramid highway to six lanes on some areas, add bike lanes, and sidewalks.

Project website: https://www.pyramidhighway.com/

[Plutonic Panda]

Picture of the map with the various phases. It appears only phases 1-3 are funded.

[cl94]

Starts in May? Technically correct. Construction starts May 1, as in this Monday. Preliminary work has been underway for a couple of months.

VERY major project that, all things considered, will be among the largest in the state. Phase 3 will likely be the main attraction of a Reno road meet once it gets underway, along with other soon-to-occur projects along 80 and 580/395. Similar to Clark County 215, the new alignment route will begin as an expressway and be upgraded to a freeway when demand requires. Phases 5 and 6 will be "as needed", similar to the final phase of I-580 that remains unconstructed, and may occur long after the other phases are complete. Other projects are planned over the next couple decades, including a couple of new arterials connecting Spanish Springs to the rest of the region and a potential northern extension of SR 439 to end at SR 445 in Spanish Springs, that may make a full freeway less necessary.

From a roadgeek perspective, a very big question is "how will this affect route numbering?" I'd expect the new connecting expressway to be state from the beginning given that the state is likely constructing it. I could see SR 445 being routed onto the new expressway, with current 445 being demoted to a 6xx route and possibly decommissioned south of McCarran Blvd/SR 659, but there are plenty of open numbers and options.

[roadfro]

I had it in my head that the connector portion of this project was going to be freeway from the start. Maybe that was an early consideration that was later nixed...? This concept has been in the works for 15+ years, so it's possible that elements of it have changed at some point.

Also similar to CC 215 is that much of the initial planning for the overall project has been driven by Washoe County RTC. Obviously there is some NDOT involvement especially where their existing ROW is concerned, but it seems the county is pushing for the overall plan. But it's clear from the website that NDOT is leading phase 1, given it's all along their existing ROW and it's something that has been needed whether the actual connector was built or not.

I too am curious what this will look like long term from the jurisdictional and numbering perspective. It's not immediately clear that NDOT will have big involvement with funding and construction of the actual connector being built in phase 3. So would NDOT take over the new connector, or would it remain local? In some respects, I could see NDOT taking this over when complete. But recent precedents would suggest NDOT may prefer jurisdictional swaps as opposed to outright adding new mileage. (For example, NDOT offloaded many state routes in Carson City to the city, in exchange for fast tracking elements of the Carson City Freeway. Also, I believe there were some jurisdictional swaps with the City of Las Vegas [including offloading portions of SR 159/Charleston Blvd] that led to NDOT taking over Summerlin Pkwy/SR 613.) Much of the new mileage will actually be in unincorporated Washoe County, but existing SR 445 is in Sparks, so there's not an easy jurisdictional swap there...so unless City of Sparks is willing to just to take it over, I don't see NDOT decommissioning Pyramid Way south of McCarran Blvd anytime soon.