Contract awarded for smaller portion of bypass

The Nevada Department of Transportation recently awarded a contract for its 2½-mile portion of Interstate 11 to North Dakota-based Fisher Sand &Gravel.

The bid, worth $83 million, will be funded by the Federal Highway Administration.

The project will be a four-lane concrete interstate between Silverline Road and Foothill Drive, as well as a full diamond interchange with a ramp at Railroad Pass, according to NDOT spokesman Tony Illia.

The corridor is currently used by 34,000 vehicles daily, he said.

“We opted to use concrete pavement due to its longevity, which, federally funded studies show, costs 13 to 28 percent less in the long run than asphalt,” said Mary Martini, NDOT District 1 engineer. “It also reduces rutting and potholes, thereby cutting maintenance expenses by up to 75 percent.”

Additional project components include a 1½-mile-long asphalt frontage road linking Henderson with the Railroad Pass interchange, replanting 20,000 cacti, putting in decorative rock, and installing 5 miles of tortoise fencing.

A 1,200-foot-long, 28-foot-tall concrete retaining wall with graphics illustrating scenes from the Hoover Dam construction also will be put in.

A 180-foot-long steel bridge will reconnect the railroad tracks previously severed by U.S. Highway 93, Illia said. A pedestrian bridge also will be built to connect Henderson’s trail system with the River Mountains Loop Trail.

“The bypass will reroute traffic away from downtown Boulder City,” said Tony Lorenzi, senior project manager for NDOT. “Residents had previously complained about increased truck traffic through the middle of town as a result of the Hoover Dam bridge’s completion in 2010.”

The Regional Transportation Commission’s portion of Interstate 11 consists of 12½ miles that begin near Railroad Pass before circling around the Boulder City Municipal Airport and connecting at the Hoover Dam bypass bridge.

Las Vegas Paving was awarded a contract for the commission’s portion of the bypass in December. Illia said Las Vegas Paving was the runner-up for NDOT’s portion of the interstate.

Fisher Sand &Gravel also built the 1,725 foot-long Galena Creek Bridge in Washoe County, which was completed in 2012. It is expected to break ground on I-11 in early April.

Contact reporter Steven Slivka at sslivka@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow @StevenSlivka on Twitter.