NDOT updates North Valleys US‑395 project; residents press for traffic, safety and school‑access answers

Nanette Manswell, project manager for the North Valleys project, and Andrew Lawrence, assistant district engineer, briefed the Neighborhood Advisory Board on the US‑395 corridor projects. Manswell outlined the current Phase 1b work: widening northbound to three through lanes plus an auxiliary merge lane and installing braided ramp geometry at the Golden Valley/Virginia interchanges. "We are widening the lanes to 3 lanes in each direction," Manswell said during the presentation.

NDOT described current construction status: northbound lanes from the Makarim to Parr interchange are open, drainage, electrical and ITS systems are near completion, and concrete paving is close to 80% complete in the corridor. The agency estimates Phase 1b construction will be substantially complete next summer and said it hopes to start Phase 2 construction in the summer of the following year; NDOT staff cautioned schedules depend on weather.

NDOT also reported a grant award of $89,000,000 to support Phase 2 work and related multimodal improvements (shared‑use paths, sidewalks, bike lanes and ADA access) and said noise/sound walls and landscaping designs follow themes established in prior phases.

Residents and board members sought clarifications on traffic patterns and safety. They asked whether the braided ramp would eliminate a previously used slip ramp (NDOT confirmed the slip ramp will be removed to improve safety) and whether the loss of that slip ramp would redirect traffic onto North Virginia and nearby neighborhood streets. "Typically, between interchanges, we usually have at least a mile of a distance," Manswell said, explaining geometric limitations that motivated the braided ramp design. Residents asked if local schools and emergency responders were consulted; NDOT said it meets routinely with local agencies and coordinates signal timing and temporary signal operations with the City of Reno and RTC.

On construction sequencing and delays, Andrew Lawrence said early schedule impacts stemmed from disagreements with Union Pacific over ARIMA railroad guidelines and from uncharted utility relocations; he said the foundations for major structures are now complete: "The structure foundations are 100% complete," he told the board. NDOT said some work will occur at night with lane closures outside peak hours to minimize traffic disruption.

NDOT said it has tested roundabout options in traffic models but that the modeling identified one failing leg in some roundabout configurations, so signalized intersections were recommended for the Golden Valley interchange. NDOT offered project websites and a sign‑up for construction alerts for residents and committed to further coordination with city traffic engineers about signal timing.

Ending: NDOT closed by inviting further questions, providing contact information and reminding attendees of project webpages; no board vote took place — this was an informational update and Q&A.