Governor asks review of concrete lane divider on Washoe Hill

NEW WASHOE CITY - Gov. Kenny Guinn has made it clear he is one of the drivers who doesn't like the newly installed concrete lane divider atop Washoe Hill.

The concrete barrier about the height of a curbing was installed to separate the left-turn lane for southbound traffic on Washoe Hill from the northbound traffic.

"It was installed because Washoe Valley residents think it's a safety issue," said Nevada Department of Transportation Director Tom Stephens. "There's other traffic whizzing right by there, but I admit we have experienced a few problems with the curb since it's been installed."

Guinn said he wants Stephens to look at other possible solutions because he has several reports of people heading north who hit it.

"Even with my 20-20 vision, when we come up over the hill, it looks like a yellow line. Our trooper when he came over there almost hit it and he's trained to drive," he said, referring to his official driver.

"Well, he's not supposed to be driving on the yellow line," said Stephens. "But we'll look into it.

The curbing was installed about a month ago to separate the southbound turn lane onto East Lake Boulevard from northbound traffic on U.S. 395 at the crest of Washoe Hill. There have been numerous accidents there throughout the years, many of them head-on collisions involving cars attempting to make a left turn.

But some drivers say they feel like the curbing seems to intrude into their travel lane.

Stephens said resolving the problem to everyone's satisfaction amounts to "a balancing act."