NDOT updates Churchill County on 1 Nevada rural engagement, US‑95 and US‑50 priorities

Tracy Larkin, director for the Nevada Department of Transportation’s district that includes Churchill County, briefed the Churchill County Board of Commissioners on NDOT’s rural county engagement process and a slate of mid‑ and long‑range projects affecting the county.

Larkin said the “rural county collaboration” is part of NDOT’s One Nevada process, a data‑driven workflow that collects county transportation needs via workshops, evaluates them at headquarters, reports back to local officials and then repeats that cycle. She said the county workshop for Churchill County was held Aug. 1, 2024, and produced three mid‑range and five long‑range projects for the NDOT queue.

Among mid‑range items listed were improved lighting and sidewalks on U.S. 95 from Circle Place to Churchill Village Apartments; a possible bike path or shoulder widening on U.S. 95 from Wade Lane to the bridge at Coleman Road and Piute Drive; and intersection improvements at U.S. 50 and Gumisle Drive to study controls and geometry. Larkin identified long‑range projects including intersection work at U.S. 95 and Wharton Drive, and earlier‑scoped work at the Sheckler Road intersection on U.S. 50 (often referenced as the Sheckler cutoff). She said the Sheckler cutoff scope has been developed multiple times and the most recent estimate for improvements is about $7 million, with significant right‑of‑way, utility and structure challenges.

Larkin said NDOT is prioritizing passing lanes on U.S. 95 and U.S. 93 where traffic and safety issues are most acute. She also described an SR 361 realignment project funded with Department of Defense dollars — a $103 million effort to realign 14 miles of roadway outside a Navy range of expansion — and a preservation project on I‑80 scheduled for 2026 with an estimated cost of $36 million. For US‑50, Larkin said a pavement preservation and ADA/signing/lighting project is planned with construction forecast for 2027.

Commissioners and staff asked practical questions about partnering on small work that falls within NDOT right‑of‑way, whether NDOT crews would perform work under interlocal agreements, and whether it would be more economical to have county contractors do small items and be reimbursed. Larkin said the agency can enter an interlocal agreement with a not‑to‑exceed price and either perform the work with NDOT crews or reimburse county/contractor work when it makes sense. Commissioners also raised concerns about preexisting cautionary lights and potential signal‑change warning lights at the Sheckler intersection; NDOT committed to follow up with specific answers on whether proposed projects would include such flashers.

Larkin said NDOT recently added a rural county specialist at the executive level to maintain ongoing informal coordination with rural counties and to help identify opportunities for collaboration on smaller finish‑work items when county projects intersect state right‑of‑way.

The NDOT presentation also listed several completed and upcoming maintenance actions in the district: new bridge and paving work near Lahontan, crack sealing on SR‑116, chip seals along U.S. 50A and other pavement preservation, and cold mix overlays and miscellaneous repairs scheduled through the coming year.