This structure lies in the right of way of Muller Lane Parkway north of Toler Lane where a roundabout is one of the issues of contention in litigation between the county and the developers of Ashland Park.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
The route to completing Muller Lane Parkway will lead through the Nevada Supreme Court.
On Friday, members of the Douglas County Regional Transportation Commission approved a $3.43 million bid for the segment of Muller Lane Parkway north of Toler Lane over the objection of Park Ranch Holdingsā David Park.
āI donāt recommend approving this as designed,ā Park said. āIt is a mistake to approve this design. The overtopping of Muller Lane Parkway in the Ashland segment will adversely affect neighboring property owners including ourselves and a good portion of Chichester Estates.ā
The segment next to the Ashland Park Development has been the object of legal wrangling for at least two years.
On May 1, an appeal of the denial of a preliminary injunction was filed with the Nevada Supreme Court.
That appeal occurred not long after District Judge Tom Gregory dismissed three of four causes of action in a lawsuit between the owners of Ashland Park and Park Ranch Holdings over flood issues.
On Friday, Park submitted a memo written by engineer Tod Cochran who reviewed the flood model submitted by JE Fuller at the end of December.
Cochran contends that Muller Lane Parkway will see flood waters over the road in a 25-year flood, much less a 100-year flood. The periodicity refers to the odds of a certain sized flood in any given year.
Buckeye and Pine Nut creeks are responsible for flooding in the area north of Gardnerville and Minden. During the record winter of 2023, a Tonopah low brought significant snowfall to the East Valley, which melted during a March rain and flooded Buckeye Road and scoured Park fields near there.
āThe proposed conditions do show the section of Muller Parkway through the Ashland Park development graded with a lower embankment than the rest of the proposed Parkway,ā Cochran wrote. āAlthough the Parkway is not āat gradeā as was stated several times in the rebuttal report, it does appear that it would easily overtop in the 25-year storm event in the Ashland Park section.ā
Cochran contends that the proposed grading of Muller Parkway in Ashland Park section āclearly impacts the 100-year-flow patternā
He acknowledges that that flow into Chichester increases in some parts and decreases in others.
He said the peak flow across the whole property decreases from 2,307 to 1,814 cubic feet per second and along Petar Drive from 424 to 284 cubic feet per second.
āThis increase appears to be caused by flow being diverted to the south side of Toler Lane by the proposed roundabout at Muller Parkway and Toler Lane. Some of the additional flow travels west along Kittyhawk Avenue to Elges Avenue where it turns north and crosses Toler Lane near Cardiff Drive.ā
The county has already started work on the first phase of the Parkway located south of Buckeye Lane. The second phase is awaiting approval from the Federal Emergency Management Administration, which is expected next month, Douglas County Transportation Engineer Jon Erb said.
Douglas County has until the end of the year to complete two lanes of the $15 million Parkway.
A trial in the lawsuit between Ashland Park and Douglas County is scheduled for December.
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The route to completing Muller Lane Parkway will lead through the Nevada Supreme Court.
On Friday, members of the Douglas County Regional Transportation Commission approved a $3.43 million bid for the segment of Muller Lane Parkway north of Toler Lane over the objection of Park Ranch Holdingsā David Park.
The segment next to the Ashland Park Development has been the object of legal wrangling for at least two years.
On May 1 an appeal of the denial of a preliminary injunction was filed with the Nevada Supreme Court.
That appeal occurred not long after District Judge Tom Gregory dismissed three of four causes of action in a lawsuit between the owners of Ashland Park and Park Ranch Holdings over flood issues.
The county has already started work on the first phase of the Parkway located south of Buckeye Lane. The second phase is awaiting approval from the Federal Emergency Management Administration, which is expected next month, Douglas County Transportation Engineer Jon Erb said on Friday.