Construction in Midtown Reno is back after a few days of two-way traffic along South Virginia Street. It's back to southbound traffic only for a couple of blocks.
"Our crews are finishing some storm drain work on the stretch of Virginia Street between Center Street and Vassar Street so that is open for southbound traffic only for this time period," said Lauren Ball with RTC Washoe.
This is the last part of phase one of the ongoing Virginia Street Project. It's slated to last a few weeks; then the street will reopen in both directions until this summer, when phase two of this project will begin."
"Phase two is where you're really going to see the transformation of Virginia Street take place," Ball said. "You'll see new wide sidewalks, new landscaping, new pavement and a lot of new features you'll really notice, whereas for the first phase, everything was underground so there were really no noticeable changes."
And while a major project like this one can have an impact on local businesses, some nearby merchants are making sure everyone knows they're still open for business.
"Everyone is on the same page," said Roy Brennan, owner of Beefy's, a hamburger joint that's had cones outside it for months. "We're doing our best to drive business and let them know we're open.There's so much down here between the bars, the restaurants and the shopping; it's just a great place to come down and visit."
The Virginia Street Project is designed to make getting through Midtown easier.
"This project will benefit the whole community," Ball said. "Whether you're walking, driving, taking the bus or riding your bike; we're making a number of safety improvements along the corridor."
It's a project some say is long overdue.
"It's probably 75 years overdue," Brennan said. "So we can't keep waiting. The city has been very helpful in keeping everything going, the plans look good and everyone is anxious for it to get done."
But before that can happen, there are more cone zones to come.
"Right now there's still a couple orange cones but we have side streets," Brennan said. "And it's easier driving on Virginia Street than it was before because everyone's avoiding it so come on down!"
The Virginia Street Project should be finished by 2020.
