Winds force delay in interchange opening

Jace Radke

Friday, March 12, 1999 | 11:28 a.m.

The Nevada Department of Transportation had hoped to have the first of the Spaghetti Bowl's four new flyover bridges completed by March 5, but windy conditions and minor design revisions have pushed the opening back.

About 15 extra days may be allotted to Meadow Valley, the contractor for the interchange overhaul, to finish the bridge that will shuttle traffic from northbound Interstate 15 to northbound U.S. 95, NDOT spokesman Scott Magruder said.

The exact number of days is being negotiated with the company, Magruder said.

"Building something like this is like writing a story," Meadow Valley project manager Tom Patton said. "Things come up and you have to add them to your story, and it may take a little longer to write.

"The last few days we've had some winds that have been too strong to move the truss back. With the wind, it was a safety consideration to not work those days."

The completion of the bridge is one of the project's milestones that are to be completed by certain dates as work on the overhaul continues, Magruder said. For every day the bridge is late, Meadow Valley will face a $20,000 penalty, but as of now the project is considered on time because work days are made up for those lost to wind and design revisions.

"The structure of the bridge is complete and will open soon," Patton said. "It is not behind schedule."

"Things like this happen in these kinds of projects," Magruder said.