The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) — along with their contractor, a joint venture of Q&D Construction and Road and Highway Builders (RHB) — is working on the second phase (1B) of a project on U.S. 395, which runs from just outside of Los Angeles, California, to the Canadian border. The section of highway under construction is in the North Valleys region in northwest Nevada. This part of Nevada includes major cities, Reno and Sparks, and is along the California border.
The North Valleys region has seen its population grow significantly over the past few decades, and the surge is expected to continue. The population growth leads to the overtaxing of roadways. The average daily traffic on the section of U.S. 395 grew from 82,000 to 83,000 in 2023 (and 28 percent between 2011 and 2021).
"This road is the primary access to north Reno, so we have to find a way to move traffic through the work zone as efficiently and safely as possible," said Rick Bosch, Assistant Resident Engineer at Diversified Consulting Services, a consultant for NDOT.
Bosch added that heavy traffic volumes occur southbound in the morning and northbound in the evening. The traffic level and limited shoulder width have been safety issues, according to Victor Peters, a Project Coordinator for NDOT.
"When traffic incidents occur, often due to speeding or distracted driving, the limited shoulder lengths can lead to the highway being shut down," Peters said.
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This section of U.S. 395 is vital to the region.
"The route is one of the main connections from the area to the surrounding states," NDOT Project Manager Nanette Maxwell said. "It has an array of commercial centers, warehouses, light manufacturing outlets, and residential areas."
This project includes adding a third lane on southbound U.S. 395. The new lane will run for 3 miles and is being constructed inside the existing median of the southbound freeway.
A third lane was previously installed on northbound U.S. 395, which experiences more traffic. Room was created by shrinking the lane width and reducing shoulder widths. The current project will widen the northbound side, so it will return to full shoulder width.
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Both northbound and southbound U.S. 395 will be repaved along the 3-mile stretch as well.
Other project elements include:
- Construction of an additional designated merging lane between each freeway ramp in both directions on U.S. 395 in the 3-mile work zone
- Construction of a "braided" freeway ramp along northbound U.S. 395 between two exits for safer, smoother traffic flow
"Traffic was backing up from local streets onto the highway," Peters said. "The structure needed to be braided to allow more distance per queue and to keep vehicles off of U.S. 395."
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U.S. 395 is a confined highway in a busy area with high traffic counts. Add those factors up, and it can become a challenging situation for the construction team. How does the crew get materials to and around the work zone? How do they keep traffic flowing while moving work forward?
NDOT took a proactive approach when it came to moving traffic. Before the project even began, they launched an outreach campaign, encouraging drivers to plan ahead and alerting them of the changes. Over 2,000 people signed up to receive updates about the changes. These include 24/7 lane shifts (slight reduction in width) and speed reductions, as well as overnight lane and ramp closures.
People were also warned that beginning in spring 2024, additional significant construction impacts would occur, including reducing northbound U.S. 395 to two lanes and reducing access to a bridge.
Reducing lane width can lead to an increase in rear-end-type crashes if motorists drive through the work zone distracted or at high speeds. The team has given great thought to clearing crashes away quickly.
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Enabling emergency services to move in and around the project area can be challenging due to the tight work zone.
"We have frequent recurring meetings with our first responder community to provide project updates including changes in the traffic patterns and potential impacts, report issues, and we send reports about traffic impacts," NDOT Resident Engineer Patrick Vradenburg said.
To ensure access and quick response times should they be needed by emergency services, there are several pullouts in each direction. The pullouts are breaks in the barrier.
"They are marked by black and blue signs and are for emergency services to get in and out of the project area quickly," Bosch said.
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Another step the team has taken to move traffic through the work zone is to install a temporary signal system at a nearby interchange.
Periodically, traffic is detoured on local roadways beneath the highway. The detours need to be submitted and approved. Once they are in effect, significant coordination is required to handle the traffic.
Moving materials in and around the site can also be tricky. The material quantities installed and constructed as part of the project through mid-January 2025 include:
- 27,000 tons of plant mix paving (underneath concrete paving)
- 70,000 square yards of 12-inch PCCP concrete paving
- 5,400 linear feet of concrete barrier rail
- 745,000 pounds of reinforcing steel placed in concrete structures
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The project area includes multiple bridges, including over waterlines/utilities, an interchange, surface streets, and a rail line facility. The team is widening bridges and putting in full new sections. The bridge girders are being precast off site. Upon delivery, they are ready to be installed.
"This helps reduce the amount of space required for construction of the bridges and prevents having to shut down several lanes," Vradenburg said.
Construction on the project began in spring 2023. Substantial completion is expected to be in spring 2026. That is three months after the original date, which included 450 working days. The team, however, is optimistic that they will be able to make up some — if not all — of the time.
The contractor works six days a week, and there is no winter shutdown. This is possible because this is a concrete project, with minimal plant mix. Plus, the team has worked on other aspects during the winter months.
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Complications have arisen for multiple reasons, including discovering an undocumented spur of a mine shaft. In 1859 in Washoe County, Nevada, the Comstock Lode was "the first major silver find in the United States," according to the Nevada Mining Association. The project area is in the same vicinity.
Upon discovering the mine shaft, the team consulted the Bureau of Mines in implementing a plan to properly document and collapse it. The Bureau of Mines assisted the contractor with mine shaft stabilization measures, and the contractor coordinated efforts with the joint venture team to stabilize and seal off the shaft.
Because there is a railroad (Union Pacific) facility within the project site, Peters said that the team has to coordinate timelines and meet their specs.
Unexpected field conditions have been an additional wrinkle, challenging the schedule.
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"The site conditions made bridge footings difficult," Maxwell said. "We've run into unknown utilities as well." These discoveries have led to some significant change orders.
The construction budget for the project is approximately $237 million. At the 50 percent completion rate, the project was slightly above budget but within range. The federal government is providing 95 percent of the funds, and the remainder is financed via state and local funds.
Q&D Construction and RHB are headquartered in Nevada and regularly work with the state.
"NDOT has worked with both contractors for several decades, which helps in terms of relationship and understanding of expectations," said Bosch, who worked for NDOT before joining his current employer.
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Q&D served as the general contractor on phase one.
"We joined forces to form the JV [joint venture] because it made sense due to the size of the project," said Brian Barger, a Project Manager for RHB. He added that the combination made the joint venture a stronger team that could provide a product that the public would appreciate.
Upon completing this phase of the U.S. 395 North Valleys project, the added capacity will enhance mobility and safety for those who rely on it to go from North Valleys to the Reno-Sparks area. It will also improve safety due to a better merge and widened shoulders (12 feet inside and outside on north and southbound).
- Owner/Designer: Nevada Department of Transportation
- General Contractor: Q&D Construction, Reno, Nevada; RHB, Sparks, Nevada
- Other Key Contractors: Drill Tech, Antioch, California; Summit Line Construction, Heber, Utah
