The Nevada Department of Transportation broke ground on a pair of roundabouts along a one-mile-long stretch of Highway 372 at the intersections of Blagg Road and Pahrump Valley Boulevard Monday.
The $4.05 million project will create sections of new curb, gutters and sidewalks, as well as new handicap-accessible pedestrian crossings in each direction.
New street lighting, signage, and stretches of asphalt and concrete paving with a friction finishing course on nine valley gutters where certain streets intersect with SR-372 that will help vehicle tires grip the road in order to prevent skidding, are also on the plans.
The concrete roundabouts will feature desert median landscaping with tri-colored crushed rock arranged in a graphic pattern. Additionally, concrete walls, boulders, Joshua trees, agave cactuses, and shrubs will adorn the pair of roundabouts.
Cor-Ten steel art sculptures of wild horses, bighorn sheep and birds will add an area-appropriate touch to the landscaping of the roundabout medians.
The project is slated to last six months and will entail a sophisticated traffic plan with flaggers, occasional night-time work and phased construction while maintaining continual access for emergency first responders. The pair of roundabouts are anticipated to be completed by late April 2017.
Traffic restrictions on Highway 372 at the pair of construction sites includes:
■ Tractor-trailers and over-dimensional trucks will be detoured along SR-160 to West Basin Avenue to South Lola Lane onto SR-372 starting Oct. 3 and continuing through April 14, 2017.
■ Pahrump Valley Boulevard will be closed 300 feet north from SR-372 starting Oct. 10 and continuing through Jan. 1, 2017.
■ Blagg Road will be closed 500 feet north from SR-372 starting Oct. 21 and continuing through Jan. 1, 2017.
Motorists should use caution while traveling through the work zone, heed construction signage, and take alternate routes, if possible. For current road information go to: www.nvroads.com
Roundabout Public Workshop
An informational public workshop about the Highway 372 roundabouts takes place Thursday, from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m., at the new Valley Electric Conference Center, located at 800 E. Highway 372.
The meeting will explain roundabouts, which are one-way circular intersections with a center island where traffic flows freely without stop signs or traffic lights.
All residents are encouraged to attend the free event.
For those that require special accommodations to attend the event, reasonable efforts will be made to assist and help persons with disabilities to attend the meeting.
Requests for auxiliary aids or services to assist individuals with disabilities or limited English proficiency should be made with as much advance notice as possible to Julie Maxey at NDOT, 775-888-7171 or jmaxey@dot.state.nv.us.
Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.