Graves Lane opening seems relatively uneventful

Graves Lane has had a relatively uneventful first two weeks of life.

One accident in its first week created about $1,900 worth of damage to a blast fence near the airport.

Other than that "the glitter has gone out of it," said Harvey Brotzman, Carson City Regional Transportation Commission senior engineer.

"It's there, and it's used," Brotzman said. "It's like anything new. You open it once, and the hype goes away."

Brotzman said while he knows the road is well used, no traffic counts would be done on the 7,770-foot extension until next year. The road is expected to carry more than 6,000 cars a day.

Businesses along the busy extension are happy with it.

George Davis, a 7-Eleven store employee, said the store has seen customer traffic into the store increase from between 15 percent to 20 percent since the extension's opening Dec. 10. The store is on the corner of Graves Lane and Highway 50 East.

"For months we were looking forward to the opening," Davis said. "It's a really good road."

SlotWorld General Manager Jeff Smeath said business is up at the Graves Lane/Highway 50 East casino. But the holiday season is a busy time for the casino, and Smeath said the real test of the road's impact on his business would come in the Spring.

"We finally got to see the construction cones come down," Smeath said. "It was an excellent move on the city's part. I love the street. It cuts down the time in getting to the other side town."

Transportation Commission Chairman John Plank said the responses he's heard regarding the road have been favorable. One person told him the road was well built and easy to speed on.

The $6.3 million landscaped, four-lane road extends over a mile, connecting College Parkway to Highway 50 East.