Railroad Proposed Underpasses as One Alternative to Reno Congestion

Thursday, April 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

City officials, however, said that alternative is not good enough and would only create different problems for the city.

An engineering study prepared for the railroad said four underpasses, at an estimated cost of $70 million, would "serve the people of Reno very well at the most cost-effective price."

But Mayor Jeff Griffin and other officials said the option would require more one-way streets through downtown, creating confusion and inconvenience for motorists.

"It's unfortunate," Griffin said of the railroad's proposal on Wednesday. "It's not responsive to what we want."

What the city wants is for the railroad to move the tracks to the Interstate 80 corridor and away from downtown.

The railroad has said that would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and is unfeasible.

"We would like them to come to the table and negotiate our preferred alternative," Griffin said. "We gotta get going on this."

Union Pacific spokesman John Bromley said the railroad is still considering options.

"We are, of course, still talking with the city about this and other alternatives," Bromley said. "We're a long way from saying this is what we're going to do."

If the merger is approved, city officials contend the number of trains passing through downtown will more than double to about 36 per day, causing traffic gridlock and long delays at railroad crossings.

Police Chief Jim Weston also has concerns about the underpass proposal.

Narrowing travel lanes at the underpasses could create bottlenecks for emergency vehicles, he said, adding that he fears pedestrian tunnels would become havens for homeless people, drug users and criminals.

"It raises my eyebrows," he said of the proposal.