RTC approves Goni Road intersection study; recommends roundabout but not added to 2026 rehab project

Carson City transportation staff recommended building a single‑lane roundabout at the intersection of Goni Road and Arrowhead Drive to reduce delay and crashes, but the Regional Transportation Commission on a unanimous vote approved the study only and declined to add the roundabout to the District 1 Goni Road rehabilitation project slated for 2026.

KC Sylvester, the city’s transportation and traffic engineer, told the commission the intersection is currently controlled by all‑way stop signs and is already failing in the morning peak. “The intersection in question is currently always stop control,” Sylvester said, and traffic counts collected in fall 2024 show operations will degrade further as traffic grows. Sylvester said staff evaluated three alternatives: no change, a signalized intersection and a single‑lane roundabout.

The study found the signal would reduce peak‑hour delay to about 17.7 seconds in the PM in the 2050 design year, while the roundabout would yield slightly better operations (about 16 seconds of PM delay in the design year). The report also included a predictive safety analysis that ranked the roundabout as providing the greatest crash‑reduction benefit of the three options. “The roundabout alternative best addresses the operations and it improves upon safety. And so it is, the recommended solution,” Sylvester said.

Cost estimates in the staff presentation put a traffic signal with required pavement work at about $1,800,000 and the roundabout at about $3,200,000. Staff said there is no current funding allocated specifically for the intersection and outlined potential funding sources including Nevada Department of Transportation Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) grants, federal STBG (Surface Transportation Block Grant) funds, or developer contributions tied to future development nearby.

Commissioners and the public raised concerns about truck access. Public commenters representing local trucking interests and adjacent industrial property owners said many heavy vehicles and long combinations use the intersection and warned a compact roundabout could be difficult for the largest rigs to navigate. Sylvester said staff ran truck‑tracking using a WB67 design vehicle for the roundabout geometry but acknowledged some commenters reported using longer combinations; he also said the roundabout can be designed with mountable islands and flatter curves to accommodate heavy trucks.

Commission discussion focused on three questions: the preferred treatment (roundabout vs. signal vs. keep the stop control), the priority of the project relative to other safety needs in the adopted local road safety plan, and whether to include the intersection changes in the Goni Road pavement project scheduled for 2026. Several commissioners said they prefer a roundabout over a signal if funding can be obtained, but they were reluctant to use limited HSIP dollars for this site if higher‑priority pedestrian safety projects already identified in the local road safety plan would be displaced.

After discussion the commission voted unanimously to approve the study as presented, to not add the recommended intersection improvements into the current 2026 Goni Road rehabilitation project at this time, and to use the study’s recommendation as the baseline for considering future development and funding opportunities. Chair Bagwell said keeping the study on file will inform developer participation agreements and future grant applications.

The commission directed staff to pursue possible funding avenues, including HSIP and STBG, and to return to the commission before submitting any grant application. Sylvester and other staff said a HSIP call for projects was open and that Carson City already had other candidate projects under consideration for safety funding.

Votes at a glance: • Motion to approve the December 11, 2024 minutes — mover: Supervisor Schuette; second: not specified in record; outcome: approved (unanimous). • Motion to continue Mayor Bagwell as chair and Supervisor Schuette as vice chair — mover: Commissioner Amber Novak; second: not specified in record; outcome: approved (unanimous). • Motion to approve the Goni Road intersection study as presented, not add the study recommendations to the 2026 project, and use study recommendations as baseline for future development — mover: Commissioner Maloney; second: Commissioner Novak; outcome: approved (unanimous).

What happens next: staff said there is no timeline for construction until funding is identified. The Goni Road pavement rehabilitation project remains tentatively scheduled for 2026; staff will return with any grant application details and any proposed design changes based on further truck‑tracking or right‑of‑way needs.