Construction may feel like it's at every corner of the city right now, but officials say each project is well planned in hopes of avoiding an extreme increase in traffic delays.
Crews say that well before the first traffic cone hits the road, a lot happens behind the scenes to prepare for a project.
Meg Ragonese, the Public Information Officer for the Nevada Department of Transportation, told us, "With our partners, the RTC, Washoe Public Works, the City, and county level, to make sure that our projects are developed and coordinated in a collaborative manner. That also means that we're able to take advantage of even potential federal grants that can bring additional federal funding to improve transportation in our region.”
Possibly years before a project begins, crews will come together to evaluate, prioritize, and then collectively start developing each one.
They'll discuss start dates, detour routes, and go over potential traffic considerations before actually involving the construction side of the team.
They try to reach out as much as possible when it comes to giving a notice of new construction in an area through emails, social media, and postcard mailers.
We spoke to drivers about their experience during construction, and they said the traffic is worse than what they've expected, and some say it sometimes might even cause bad driving because of the frustration people may get when driving through construction zones.
Mauricio Aragon, who has been a Reno resident for 20-plus years, said, "It could be, especially when they go to two, one lane. Then you have to wait. You know, sometimes 30, 45 minutes on a regular street. It seems a little too much. I just think that we have to deal with it.”
The Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County tells us a great deal of effort goes into making sure any overlap in neighboring projects is minimal, although factors like the weather and utility needs can be unavoidable.
Josh MacEachern, the Public Information Officer for RTC in Washoe County, said, "We want to make sure that, you know, we're doing as little impact as possible to people's day-to-day, but we also have to weigh that against the fact that there are large infrastructure improvements in this area that have to be done.”
Crews want to remind us that every traffic cone is part of a project they hope will help our community.
