Trench favored by consultant but tunnel will be studied

Thursday, Dec. 16, 1999 | 10:11 a.m.

The Nolte Group, performing an environmental impact statement on the railroad issue, said Wednesday it evaluated more than a dozen alternatives before deciding that lowering the tracks in a trench or building a tunnel are the most viable options.

A third possibility is to do nothing, the group said.

The consulting firm started the $6 million study for the Nevada Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration this summer. It expects to finish a draft statement in May, accept public comment and complete the study by November.

The city of Reno wants to lower the railroad tracks underground through a 2.1-mile stretch of downtown to handle increased train traffic, improve public safety and spur economic development.

Officials estimated up to 40 trains a day could roll through downtown as a result of Union Pacific Railroad's merger with Southern Pacific.

The Nolte Group estimates lowering the tracks would cost about $203 million, as opposed to $261 million for building a "cover-and-cut" tunnel, essentially a covered trench.

Jerry Hall, of the Nolte Group, said cost estimates could change as more precise engineering information becomes available.

The most expensive alternative would be to build tracks in a conventional tunnel, which would cost $572 million, the draft report said. Running tracks along Interstate 80 would cost $517 million and costs could hit $1 billion for diverting tracks around the greater Truckee Meadows or along North McCarran Boulevard.

A barrier to lowering the railroad tracks downtown would be soil contaminants. Nolte drilled in 48 areas along the proposed train trench, uncovering fuel or oil contaminants in several areas.

The city's plan the lower the tracks has drawn many critics who predict the costs will balloon past estimates.

Reno plans to pay for the project through a countywide sales-tax increase, which will raise an estimated $87 million. Reno officials also have approved a 1 percentage point room tax increase in downtown hotels and a special assessment district of 450 downtown properties that will raise a combined total of $23.6 million a year.

Union Pacific has given Reno $42 million in property and air rights along the trench, $1.1 million in property leases and has agreed to pay $17 million for costs.

Other money will come from an $85 million federal transportation loan to the city, $18 million in state and federal grants and $1 million from the city's 1992 street bonds.