Nevada

[pderocco]

I've only been through there five times since they finished I-580, but between that and looking at aerial images, I don't see why it's a dangerous intersection. What is the primary mode of these accidents?

The most common is drivers coming down the hill on eastbound US 50 too fast.

The worst fatal accident involved somebody towing a boat down from Lake Tahoe.  The weight of the boat far exceeded the towing capacity of the pickup the guy was using to tow it.  His brakes failed, he bypassed the runaway truck ramp that's there for that exact situation, and ran the red light, killing two people in one of the vehicles he smashed into.  He got a prison sentence of (I think) 2 to 5 years for involuntary manslaughter.

Allegedly the dump truck that crashed yesterday also had brake failure.  Again, the driver bypassed the runaway truck ramp.  I saw one report that the dump truck was in the left lane and couldn't get to the ramp because of cars in the right lane, but that's just hearsay.  I suspect a lot of drivers avoid ramps like that if they think "I should be able to stop", because they will sink into the deep gravel and it's an expensive tow out of there.

In the one last week, it was a semi towing a couple of trailers loaded with cement, trying to make the left turn from eastbound 50 on to South Carson Street (Business US 395) too fast.  That one took down one of the signal pole structures as the wrecked cab and trailers came to rest over near the eagle sculpture.

You mentioned a SPUI. I hope that's on the N/S alignment connecting US-395 to US-395-BL, so that US-50 can be free flowing. Otherwise, it wouldn't solve the problem.

[gonealookin]

I've only been through there five times since they finished I-580, but between that and looking at aerial images, I don't see why it's a dangerous intersection. What is the primary mode of these accidents?

The most common is drivers coming down the hill on eastbound US 50 too fast.

The worst fatal accident involved somebody towing a boat down from Lake Tahoe.  The weight of the boat far exceeded the towing capacity of the pickup the guy was using to tow it.  His brakes failed, he bypassed the runaway truck ramp that's there for that exact situation, and ran the red light, killing two people in one of the vehicles he smashed into.  He got a prison sentence of (I think) 2 to 5 years for involuntary manslaughter.

Allegedly the dump truck that crashed yesterday also had brake failure.  Again, the driver bypassed the runaway truck ramp.  I saw one report that the dump truck was in the left lane and couldn't get to the ramp because of cars in the right lane, but that's just hearsay.  I suspect a lot of drivers avoid ramps like that if they think "I should be able to stop", because they will sink into the deep gravel and it's an expensive tow out of there.

In the one last week, it was a semi towing a couple of trailers loaded with cement, trying to make the left turn from eastbound 50 on to South Carson Street (Business US 395) too fast.  That one took down one of the signal pole structures as the wrecked cab and trailers came to rest over near the eagle sculpture.

You mentioned a SPUI. I hope that's on the N/S alignment connecting US-395 to US-395-BL, so that US-50 can be free flowing. Otherwise, it wouldn't solve the problem.

Traffic coming down the hill on eastbound US 50, and coming off I-580 and heading up toward Tahoe, is supposed to cross over US 395/South Carson Street on the overpass.

The shortcoming of that design is that it still leaves backups for traffic coming off southbound I-580 and making the turn on to southbound US 395 toward Minden, the worst current backups at that intersection by my observation.  I do think that's the best we can hope for though.  There was recently an updated local transportation report discussing options for upgrading US 395 between that intersection and Minden to full freeway.  It would be stupendously expensive to do that from the I-580/US 50/US 395 junction to south of Jacks Valley Road, a distance of maybe a bit more than a mile, because of all the local connections that would be required.  That area is the major shopping area for Carson City and Douglas County, with a Costco, a Walmart center, a Target/Home Depot center and another big box center (main anchor Best Buy, although I want to say the In-N-Out in there attracts the most traffic) all situated on the west side of 395.  So I expect that stretch to remain a six-lane boulevard with signals pretty much forever.

I do think US 395 will be upgraded to full freeway from south of Jacks Valley Road to Minden in the next 20 to 30 years.  There's plenty of space as the freeway frontage is all agricultural, no commercial, so that's a matter of a bit of additional right-of-way acquisition and constructing several grade-separated interchanges.

Edit to add the source for the comment about the cost of the freeway upgrading and a quote:

Douglas County Record-Courier article 7/11/26

A proposal to widen Highway 395 from Jacks Valley Road south to Highway 88 to a four-lane freeway with frontage roads would cost $138.5 million. Widening 395 from Jacks Valley Road north to the Carson City line could cost upward of $130 million...

[pderocco]

Another short term improvement might be to add a runaway truck ramp maybe three quarters of a mile before the existing one. If you're careening down the hill unable to stop, you might miss the first one, and say "Oh shit, I should have taken that ramp, now I'm screwed," and then get a second chance.

[gonealookin]

Another short term improvement might be to add a runaway truck ramp maybe three quarters of a mile before the existing one. If you're careening down the hill unable to stop, you might miss the first one, and say "Oh shit, I should have taken that ramp, now I'm screwed," and then get a second chance.

There's a big dropoff from the right side of modern US 50 to Old Clear Creek Road (original US 50 alignment, much lower in the canyon) for the last 3 miles or so before that last runaway truck ramp.  It's a good idea but not realistically practical.

[cl94]

Both truck crashes in the last week or so (last Tuesday and yesterday) involved a truck blowing past at least one runaway truck ramp with bad brakes. I actually drove past last week's while on my way up the hill to work; it was heading downhill decently fast at the interchange halfway up the hill and its brakes were already smoking pretty badly around 6,000 feet. So that truck blew past both ramps, as the upper one was below where I passed the truck, and was smoking a good 1,200 feet above the light at the bottom.

Honestly, the things that can be done in relatively short order are a) adding a second mandatory brake check at the pullout around 6,000 feet, b) getting NSP/ DCSD/ CCSD (if another is added) to enforce trucks using the brake checks because most skip, and c) stopping people from using the areas in front of the 2 ramps as parking, WHICH INCLUDES NSP AND CCSD, as both often sit there to run radar or do paperwork. Getting that interchange built will take years, though now would be a good time given that we're a year or two from a major resurfacing project on this part of US 50 and I don't think that contract has been let yet.

(personal opinion strongly emphasized)

[pderocco]

Both truck crashes in the last week or so (last Tuesday and yesterday) involved a truck blowing past at least one runaway truck ramp with bad brakes. I actually drove past last week's while on my way up the hill to work; it was heading downhill decently fast at the interchange halfway up the hill and its brakes were already smoking pretty badly around 6,000 feet. So that truck blew past both ramps, as the upper one was below where I passed the truck, and was smoking a good 1,200 feet above the light at the bottom.

Honestly, the things that can be done in relatively short order are a) adding a second mandatory brake check at the pullout around 6,000 feet, b) getting NSP/ DCSD/ CCSD (if another is added) to enforce trucks using the brake checks because most skip, and c) stopping people from using the areas in front of the 2 ramps as parking, WHICH INCLUDES NSP AND CCSD, as both often sit there to run radar or do paperwork. Getting that interchange built will take years, though now would be a good time given that we're a year or two from a major resurfacing project on this part of US 50 and I don't think that contract has been let yet.

(personal opinion strongly emphasized)

Professional truck drivers should know about engine braking. I doubt jake brakes are prohibited on that road.

[Rothman]

Both truck crashes in the last week or so (last Tuesday and yesterday) involved a truck blowing past at least one runaway truck ramp with bad brakes. I actually drove past last week's while on my way up the hill to work; it was heading downhill decently fast at the interchange halfway up the hill and its brakes were already smoking pretty badly around 6,000 feet. So that truck blew past both ramps, as the upper one was below where I passed the truck, and was smoking a good 1,200 feet above the light at the bottom.

Honestly, the things that can be done in relatively short order are a) adding a second mandatory brake check at the pullout around 6,000 feet, b) getting NSP/ DCSD/ CCSD (if another is added) to enforce trucks using the brake checks because most skip, and c) stopping people from using the areas in front of the 2 ramps as parking, WHICH INCLUDES NSP AND CCSD, as both often sit there to run radar or do paperwork. Getting that interchange built will take years, though now would be a good time given that we're a year or two from a major resurfacing project on this part of US 50 and I don't think that contract has been let yet.

(personal opinion strongly emphasized)

Professional truck drivers should know about engine braking. I doubt jake brakes are prohibited on that road.

Glad to live in a state where even if someone throws up an "Engine Braking Prohibited" sign somewhere on the State's system that it's unenforceable.  NYSDOT's position is that engine braking is a safety measure.

[cl94]

Safety should trump rules like that everywhere. Like I get not wanting to use jake brakes near homes, but if it's that or crash the truck, it shouldn't be a debate.

Speaking of which, the grades on 50 and 580 descending into Carson City were lined with cops this morning as I was driving to work, with several trucks pulled over. Maybe they're finally stepping up enforcement on those two 6% grades.

[moabdave]

There is a runaway truck ramp right there where the accidents are happening. However, the truck drivers aren't using it. My question is if placing the signs for it on overhead gantries (as Utah and Colorado do) would help. The current signs aren't much bigger than speed limit signs and posted similarly. I'll also point out that on all the Carson Locals social media groups this is blowing up, with people campaigning for "Call your senator" type drives. I have to imagine this is going to be an issue in this November's elections.

[Scott5114]

The shortcoming of that design is that it still leaves backups for traffic coming off southbound I-580 and making the turn on to southbound US 395 toward Minden, the worst current backups at that intersection by my observation.

I would think that because you'd be reducing the number of signal phases by switching to a SPUI, that alone might help with the backups considerably. Once the overpass is in place, if there's still backups there, you could switch it to a DDI, or take a page (and several million dollars) out of NDOT District 1's book and put in a flyover.

[roadfro]

The shortcoming of that design is that it still leaves backups for traffic coming off southbound I-580 and making the turn on to southbound US 395 toward Minden, the worst current backups at that intersection by my observation.

I would think that because you'd be reducing the number of signal phases by switching to a SPUI, that alone might help with the backups considerably. Once the overpass is in place, if there's still backups there, you could switch it to a DDI, or take a page (and several million dollars) out of NDOT District 1's book and put in a flyover.

I believe an earlier concept for that interchange had the SPUI but also included a flyover for that movement (perhaps as a later phase?), but it's been a long while since I've seen any reference to that so I can only assume the idea was scrapped. 

[moabdave]

I believe an earlier concept for that interchange had the SPUI but also included a flyover for that movement (perhaps as a later phase?), but it's been a long while since I've seen any reference to that so I can only assume the idea was scrapped.

Correct.I saw two proposals for that interchange in the local press, when the project was in the design phase. The first one was at least a 4 level interchange that would have I-580 traffic default onto US-395 and vice versa. This one was rejected due to cost and tribal opposition, as it would require relocating a Washoe tribal cemetery for the banked curves to make that connection. The 2nd option (which IIRC was the approved option) called for a SPUI interchange where I-580 traffic would default onto US-50, with a flyover from I-580 SB to US-395 SB.

[cl94]

Some visible stopgap changes on US 50 today. There's a PVMS just west of the summit reinforcing the brake check requirement, as well as a closed lane unrelated to the construction that I would guess is occasionally used by NHP to monitor traffic and pull over trucks as necessary.

[dbz77]

I believe an earlier concept for that interchange had the SPUI but also included a flyover for that movement (perhaps as a later phase?), but it's been a long while since I've seen any reference to that so I can only assume the idea was scrapped.

Correct.I saw two proposals for that interchange in the local press, when the project was in the design phase. The first one was at least a 4 level interchange that would have I-580 traffic default onto US-395 and vice versa. This one was rejected due to cost and tribal opposition, as it would require relocating a Washoe tribal cemetery for the banked curves to make that connection. The 2nd option (which IIRC was the approved option) called for a SPUI interchange where I-580 traffic would default onto US-50, with a flyover from I-580 SB to US-395 SB.

Thjere would be a huge backup though as most drivers would be trying to continue on the 395 south instead of exit on 50 westbound.