The Regional Transportation Commission is considering building a road connecting Spanish Springs to the North Valleys. RTC is holding public meetings on different options for the road. The first meeting was Tuesday night at Lemmon Valley Elementary School.

"We're really just looking at potential corridors at various connection points," said RTC Interim Director Dan Doenges to the crowd at RTC's public meeting. 

On Tuesday, the RTC presented an update on proposed routes to connect Lemmon Valley to the Eagle Canyon area. "There's a lot of growth happening in both the North Valleys and Spanish Springs areas, and a lot of employment popping up there as well," said Doenges.

Out of dozens of possible road choices, the RTC has whittled it down to seven possibilities. The routes connect Lemmon Valley or Chickadee with either Eagle Canyon Road or the Lazy 5 Parkway. The Mansfields say they're excited by the possibilities. "We've got lots of friends and we shop quite often, we go out to Pyramid Lake quite often," said Lemmon Valley resident Cecilia Mansfield.

"To travel the route now, you have to get on Lemmon Drive which is crowded. You have to get on (Highway) 395 which is horrible. You have to go all the way into town and through Sparks and out that way or cut across Sun Valley. So the new routes would be easier because it goes right over the hill," said Lemmon Valley resident Mike Mansfield.

Eventually the seven choices will be narrowed to one. The RTC says the price tag should be similar to their 2018 estimate of $390 million with a start date around 2027. "It's beyond belief it takes this long to do things. Four years ago we had a presentation in another building and a lot of this stuff was there. I see some new stuff. But after four years, they could have had this road half done," said local resident Rick Snow.

The RTC says during that time, they've conducted multiple studies including impact studies on schools, traffic patterns, wetland, and wildlife in the area. "We knew that we had to take some of those environmental issues consideration, so we kind of prepared to do some discovery in those areas," said Doenges.

The second meeting will be held at Spanish Springs High School on Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m.

More: Eagle Canyon Extension Study Survey 

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