Merchants want road work suspended during summer

Sunday, Jan. 24, 1999 | 11:24 a.m.

Motorists are expected to face delays of 20-30 minutes at certain times during the resurfacing project for an 11.5-mile stretch of Nevada Route 431, Virginia City's tourism lifeline to the Reno area.

Virginia City business owners support the resurfacing - last done in 1987 - but said it's essential to avoid the peak summer tourism months.

"We have to have July, August and part of September" free of disruptions, said Gary Fly, owner of the Silver Dollar Saloon.

Nevada Department of Transportation officials pledged to work with merchants, but said the ultimate decision on project specifics would be made by NDOT Director Tom Stephens.

Virginia City was one of the West's largest mining towns in its heyday last century and the site of the world's largest silver strike.

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