Memorial Day holiday offers brief break from downtown road construction

Only a few orange cones adorned Main Street on Monday as much of the preliminary work on Highway 395 north of Waterloo Lane took a break for the Memorial Day weekend.

“Road work zones will again be in place beginning the week of May 27 with single lane closures and lane shifts for preliminary construction, similar to what motorists have seen over recent months,” Transportation Spokeswoman Meg Ragonese said on Monday.

Work is expected on the major repaving of the highway on June 10.

Motorists who miss the construction through town will still have plenty of opportunities to stop and wait as they travel south.

Work began Monday on single-lane closures on one-mile sections of Highway 395 from the Nevada-California state line to Ray May Way between 6 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays beginning Monday and continuing through August.

Traffic flaggers and pilot cars will alternate directions of traffic through the work zone. Reduced work zone speed limits will be in place.

Motorists should anticipate travel delays of up to 30 minutes and are reminded to drive safely and follow all traffic signage.

The project represents an approximate $21 million investment in preserving and enhancing Highway 395 south of Gardnerville.

Brief shoulder and single lane closures have periodically been in place since early March as crews made initial roadside improvements.

Once past the state line, motorists on Highway 395 will experience more delays for the Sonora Junction Shoulders Project between Burcham Flat Road and State Route 108 north of Bridgeport that began on May 14.

The project will widen the shoulders of the highway to 8 feet, install rail-element retaining walls, stabilize cut slopes with anchored wire mesh, and place two wildlife crossings under the highway, according to the California Department of Transportation.

Each “plate pipe” archway undercrossing will measure more than 70 feet in length and stand between 9.5 feet and 11 feet high. With 69 reported collisions since 2002, Caltrans biologists identified this stretch of Highway 395 as a crossing hotspot for the West Walker herd of mule deer. The addition of two oversized culverts and fencing to direct animals away from traffic aims to reduce wildlife mortality rates on this stretch of Highway 395. Other species native to the area that could use the underpass include sage grouse, badgers, wolverines, and red foxes.