Wednesday, April 22, 1998 | 9:15 a.m.
RENO, Nev. - Spring is sprouting in a blaze of orange cones and barrels along northern Nevada highways as crews begin gearing up for a busy road construction season.
"With the good weather, especially this week, you're going to see the orange cones popping up all over," Nevada Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Magruder said on Tuesday. "We have to get out there and repair a lot of pot holes."
This year, NDOT has about $44 million worth of construction projects on tap for the Reno, Carson City and Douglas County areas.
Beginning Sunday night, the southbound offramp from U.S. 395 to Reno-Tahoe International Airport will be closed as work begins to repair damage caused by an oversize truck in July 1996.
Magruder said northbound traffic lanes will be reduced during the two-week construction period. The $164,000 costs are being paid for by the trucking company responsible for the damage, he added.
One of the largest upcoming projects will be the repaving of a 9-mile section of U.S. 50 at Lake Tahoe, from two miles east of the Nevada-California state line to Zephyr Cove.
"It's been 10 years since that road has been repaved," Magruder said. "That road right now is in very poor condition."
The $5 million repaving job will coincide with the installation of a concrete median barrier along an eight-mile stretch of U.S. 50 from just west of the U.S. 395 junction in Carson City to Spooner Summit.
The twisting four-lane road has been the site of numerous accidents in recent years.
Work on the safety barrier should begin next month; the repaving project a month later - just in time for the busy summer tourism season. Both should be finished by summer's end.
Magruder said while traffic delays should be expected, officials are hoping to keep the waits to a minimum.
"Our goal is not to have delays more than one-half hour on any project," he said. "Most project average 10 to 15 minutes maximum."
While some work will be conducted at night, the final layer of asphalt must be applied when temperatures are at least 60 degrees. That generally necessitates work being done in the daytime, he said.
Another major project is the widening from four lanes to six of McCarran Boulevard in Sparks, from Greg Street to I-80.
That $7 million project, scheduled to start in July, probably will not be completed until next summer, Magruder said.
Ten miles of I-80 from east Fernley to the Lyon-Churchill County line also are due for a facelift.
Work on that project will begin in late June or early July.
Magruder urged motorists to be patient and use extra caution in construction zones for their own safety and that of workers.
Besides that, under a new law passed by the 1997 Legislature, any penalties for traffic violations are automatically doubled.
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