Major roadwork on Nevada Highway 160 to begin in fall

A project to widen Highway 160 in southwestern Clark County will also include roadwork on the state highway’s eastbound lanes from the western edge of Mountain Springs all the way down to the Nye County line.

The Nevada Department of Transportation plans to widen and upgrade Highway 160 between mile markers 16 to 22. The Clark County portion of the eastbound lanes, just outside Pahrump, up to the western edge of Mountain Springs, will go through rebuilding and paving as part of the project by NDOT.

“This vital southwest valley corridor serves as a crucial link between Las Vegas and Pahrump,” said NDOT spokesman Tony Illia. “Rapid development, additional residents, and increased travel has ratcheted the need for freeway improvements. This project, as a result, will expand capacity and enhance motorist safety while also improving mobility and reliability.”

The $58.6 million project will entail widening a six-mile section of Highway 160 from two to four lanes. The project also involves installing five miles of raised concrete median barrier and installing new signage and flattening side slopes for safer turnouts, a news release from NDOT stated.

The project is planned to get underway in September with an anticipated completion date of August 2020, according to NDOT.

NDOT will also complete hydro-seeding of 28 acres and plant 784 new trees, along with salvaging and replanting more than 1,000 cactuses, NDOT stated.

“The Mountain Springs Community, meanwhile, will receive new frontage roads, improved intersection lighting and an emergency signal for Clark County Volunteer Fire Station #79,” according to NDOT’s release.

The improvements will also encompass the installation of new cattleguards and a wildlife undercrossing, which will sit near mile marker 18. In addition, 10 miles of combined deer and tortoise fencing will be installed.

“Crews also will place 590 boulders, 14,000 cubic yards of rip-rap, and 1,706 tons decorative rock for landscaping and aesthetics that also help with erosion control and stormwater runoff. (Plans additionally call for placing flood control channels, box culverts and six miles of storm drainage pipe up to four feet in diameter),” NDOT’s news release stated.

The project contract was awarded to Aggregate Industries by NDOT’s board of directors in July, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Aggregate was also awarded a separate contract by the NDOT board in July to resurface sections of Lee Canyon and Kyle Canyon roads — a portion heading toward Mount Charleston, the Review-Journal report stated. The contract was worth $5.75 million, the Review-Journal reported.

For up-to-date state highway conditions, call 511 or visit NvRoads.com.

Contact reporter Jeffrey Meehan at jmeehan@pvtimes.com