Crashes have doubled in the past three years
RTC Washoe’s board, at its recent meeting, heard ideas to address what one commissioner called “pretty tough” traffic problems between Sparks and the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRIC). Options presented to the board included widening Interstate 80 to three lanes in each direction, building new roadways from the Reno area, ridesharing and a possible commuter rail.
TRIC’s rapid growth has increased traffic to the point where the highway regularly gets shut down, sometimes for hours, if there is an accident. The industrial area encompasses 160 square miles and has created over 15,000 jobs, with estimates of 35,000 to 50,000 jobs by 2040, according to RTC.
“All that job growth results in about 40,000 average annual daily trips by 2050,” RTC’s Dale Keller said. “I-80 is the primary access to and from the TRI-Center, and with this increase in traffic, we’ll push the existing I-80 beyond its current capacity.”
About 80% of TRIC employees commute from Reno-Sparks, straining the interstate’s capacity. Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) staff reported that crashes have nearly doubled in the last three years compared to previous periods.
NDOT Director Tracy Larkin Thomason said the department is pursuing a $500 million project to widen I-80 from two to three lanes in each direction for 13 miles between Vista Boulevard and USA Parkway. That project needs funding, however.
“We have been very aggressive both on our own and working with RTC to go after grants and mega-grants to help move this project forward,” she said.
Officials said solutions beyond widening I-80 are needed. Due to private industry interest, a commuter rail study is coming. RTC is also exploring a potential connection between South Meadows Parkway and USA Parkway. New roadways could provide alternate routes to TRIC, alleviating I-80 congestion.
“All of these are needed,” Larkin Thomason said. “Reno, Sparks [and] Washoe County [are] booming.”
The RTC board directed staff to move forward with studies on both the La Posada roadway connection and commuter rail options. They stressed the urgency of pursuing multiple transportation options simultaneously.
“Even in 15-20 years, they’ll be looking at us and wondering what the heck we were thinking,” Commissioner and Sparks Council member Chris Dahir said. “But I think they’re already looking at us wondering what we were thinking because it’s already pretty tough.”
“We don’t have time to sit back and wait,” he added.
