Part of I-580 & US 395 closed from Reno to Carson City this weekend

Yvonne Beasley
Reno Gazette-Journal

Interstate 580 in north Carson City and Washoe Valley will be closed to all traffic Saturday and Sunday morning.

What: Both directions of I-580/U.S. 395 closing.

When: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 17 and 18.

Detours: The easiest choice might be to leave extra-early (well before 7 a.m. Saturday-Sunday) and have breakfast at your destination. Otherwise, Nevada officials suggest you check out the full length of the new USA Parkway (it runs from I-80 east of Sparks down to Silver Springs, about 30 miles east of Carson City). That's a significantly longer drive, but it's two lanes in each direction and spares you the mountain driving of other routes east and west of the closure.

Why: Utility repairs. A helicopter is needed to string new lines, and they can't do that with traffic moving on the road.

Map: View a full-size map of the closure here.

Map of road closure for 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 17-18, 2018. Utility lines are being repaired, and no traffic will be allowed on Interstate 580 / US 395 from north Carson City to Bowers Mansion.

Below is the full announcement from Nevada Department of Transportation:

NV Energy and the Nevada Department of Transportation are announcing a full closure of Interstate 580 in northern Carson City and Washoe Valley during the morning hours of both Nov. 17 and Nov. 18.

Both directions of I-580/U.S. 395 will be closed from U.S. 50/East William Street exit 39 in central Carson City to the Alternate U.S. 395 Bowers Mansion exit 50 in northern Washoe Valley from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 17 and Nov. 18 for major utility line repairs. No access will be allowed via interstate on and off-ramps within the closure area. For the safety of both community members and utility workers who will be working in the direct area, no through traffic will be allowed through the Hobart Road and Alternate U.S. 395 intersection in the Lakeview area. Residents of the Lakeview and Eastlake Boulevard areas will be able to travel within their residential areas, but will not be able to travel through the intersection of Hobart Road and Alternate U.S. 395. Crews will begin setting up and staging the traffic control cones and zones in advance of the 7 a.m. closure time. Drivers are asked to plan to travel the interstate well before or after the closure times on these dates, or to utilize other state highways.  

Repairs will be made to 120-kilovolt transmission lines which cross over the interstate and supply power to approximately 11,000 customers at Lake Tahoe. The overhead lines were recently struck and damaged by an aircraft. The repairs require a helicopter working during daylight hours to string new utility lines across the roadway. The morning weekend hours were selected to reduce impact on heavier weekday commute traffic. As many as 43,000 vehicles travel the section of interstate daily. 

State road information is available at nevadadot.com or by calling (775) 888-7000.

Detour sign