Some describe the area as a ghost town, but it's far from it. Nearly six dozen properties, mostly houses, near the busiest Sparks intersection are empty as crews prepare to widen McCarran Blvd. and Pyramid Highway.
“Moving is not fun,” as resident Brian Tafilele, as he quietly laughed. Brain, his wife Ise, and their eight kids moved into a home on Gault Way five years ago, but today, they're moving out.
A little over a year ago, the family was notified via mail that they needed to move out. The Regional Transportation Commission has either bought or in the process of buying 71 properties that are on the east side of Pyramid Highway between Queen Way and Tesker Way.
They are buying the properties, just to tear them down.
“We like to say that we're turning Sparks' worst intersection into Sparks' best,” said Joe Harrington, Public Information Officer for the RTC.
60,000 vehicles drive this intersection each day. The $70 million project will add new travel lanes, dedicated right turning lanes, and improve sidewalks for pedestrians.
As of Wednesday, 40 homes had closed, 27 are in escrow. 28 of the 71 properties are still occupied.
We asked the Tafilele's if there are any hard feelings towards the RTC for making them move through the eminent domain process. They told us not at all.
“They helped us a lot, enough for our family,” said Tafilele. “It works out good. I want to thank them.”
Law requires all of these residents to be made whole again. RTC says they've helped with closing costs, and have even helped residents move.
“As required by statute, we've worked with these people to make sure they're relocated at no expense to them,” said Harrington.
If you see activity in the area, crews are currently removing asbestos from the homes because most were built in the 1960's. The company that is removing the asbestos says the first home could come down as early as Friday morning.
