Nevada State Route 439

State Route 439 marker

State Route 439
USA Parkway
Route information
Maintained by NDOT
Length: 6.255 mi[1] (10.066 km)
Future: Approximately 18.5 miles (29.8 km)
Major junctions
South end: Tahoe Reno Industrial Center
North end: I‑80 east of Sparks
Location
Counties: Storey, Lyon (future)
Highway system
  • Highways in Nevada
← SR 431SR 443 →

State Route 439 (SR 439) is a four-lane state highway in Storey County, Nevada. Better known as USA Parkway, the route currently connects Interstate 80 (I-80) to the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRIC) located east of Reno. The existing USA Parkway was initially constructed by the industrial center's developers; however, the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) agreed to assume control of the road after Tesla announced plans to build its Gigafactory at TRIC in 2014. NDOT is planning to rehabilitate existing USA Parkway and complete the long-planned extension of the road south to U.S. Route 50 in Lyon County by the end of 2017.

History

View north along SR 439

The owners of the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center constructed USA Parkway for $60 million in 2007 specifically to provide access to TRIC (touted as the largest industrial park in the United States) in Storey County.[2][3][4]

As of August 2009, it was reported that 10 miles (16 km) of roadway had been completed—the southernmost 4 miles (6.4 km) to the Lyon county line had only been graded and were still awaiting pavement—while roughly 7 miles (11 km) of the route to reach US 50 remained unconstructed.[5]

Expansion plans

As the plans for TRIC were realized with many large companies moving in,[6] greater plans were made for USA Parkway. As early as 2004, the road was proposed to connect with US 50 near Silver Springs, for a total distance between I-80 and US 50 of about 18 miles (29 km).[7] The connection to Silver Springs would increase regional mobility and provide air-freight shipping possibilities at nearby Silver Springs Airport.[8] Proponents of the USA Parkway southern expansion proposed the idea of having USA Parkway accepted into Nevada's state highway system as State Route 805, but NDOT did not take such action.

In 2012 and early 2013, the road network was found to fall short of TRIC's future needs. Expansion was calculated to have a network-wide benefit–cost ratio of 9.1 (with 30-year benefits of $600 million for costs of $66 million),[9] and a travel reduction time of 38%,[10] as the increased traffic could use the shorter 439 for TRIC and avoid the congestion around Reno.

Expansion project

Tesla announced plans to locate its "Gigafactory" battery production facility at TRIC in 2014. To support the projected travel demand of 6,000 vehicles per day, the Nevada Department of Transportation's Board of Directors approved a design-build project to complete the southern extension of USA Parkway in an expedited manner, two years earlier than projected.[11] The project, which involves NDOT taking over USA Parkway for $43 million, is planned for completion in December 2017 and is expected to cost between $65 million and $70 million. The funds to fast-track the USA Parkway build-out were obtained by deferring maintenance projects on seven other northern Nevada highways.[12] 80 workers are on site 24/6 building the road in stages.[13][14]

By 2015, NDOT had officially recognized the northernmost 6.255 miles (10.066 km) of USA Parkway as State Route 439.[1]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
LyonSilver Springs US 50 – Carson City, FallonFuture southern terminus
Storey​End of pavement in Tahoe Reno Industrial CenterCurrent southern terminus
Tracy I‑80 – Reno, FernleyNorthern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Unopened

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "State Maintained Highways of Nevada: Descriptions and Maps". Nevada Department of Transportation. January 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  2. ↑ Bonnenfant, Brian (February 8, 2009). "Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center: A Public-Private Partnership on Steroids". Center for Regional Studies, University of Nevada, Reno. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Owner of Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center says he just likes to build". Nevada Appeal. October 18, 2007. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Lance Gilman's $43 million Tesla payoff has believers — and critics". Las Vegas Sun. December 30, 2014. Archived from the original on March 30, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  5. ↑ Hagar, Ray (August 14, 2009). "Traditions Casino work to start in late 2009 or 2010". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
  6. ↑ "Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center: Oasis in the Desert". September 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  7. ↑ "18 mile road next on slate for industrial center". Nevada Appeal. September 5, 2004. Retrieved January 3, 2007.(subscription required)
  8. ↑ "Developer expected to build parkway between Highway 50, Interstate 80". Nevada Appeal. February 21, 2006. Retrieved January 3, 2007.(subscription required)
  9. ↑ "Benefit-Cost Analysis Memorandum" page 11-14. Nevada Department of Transportation, January 7, 2013
  10. ↑ "Traffic Operations Analysis Memorandum" page 13+39. Nevada Department of Transportation, August 28, 2012
  11. ↑ http://www.rgj.com/story/news/2016/06/08/ndot-usa-parkway-open-late-2017/85609130/
  12. ↑ Dornan, Geoff (November 28, 2014). "Design/build methods approved for USA Parkway". Nevada Appeal. Swift Communications. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  13. ↑ "USA Parkway 20% complete". Reno Gazette Journal. August 19, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  14. ↑ Construction video, grading on YouTube. Aerial view on YouTube
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