Prep work for Basin Avenue rebuild is underway

The condition of Basin Avenue in the Pahrump Valley has been a longstanding source of frustration for area motorists and development at its intersection with Blagg Road has only increased traffic, leading to an ever-deteriorating surface.

Potholes and alligator cracking plague the street, despite Nye County road crews’ efforts to keep pace with the damage inflicted by thousands of vehicles traveling up and down the road each day. Maintenance is only a band-aid solution however and the county has had Basin Avenue pegged for a complete rebuild for many years, a plan that is now ready to be put into action.

Late last month, electronic notification boards went up along Basin Avenue from Highway 160 to Blagg Road, announcing that construction would soon be underway. To learn more about the specifics of the project, the Pahrump Valley Times reached out to Nye County Public Works Director Tom Bolling, who explained that the prep work for the rebuild will be handled in-house by county crews, after which the pavement portion of the project will go out to bid.

“Preliminary construction on Basin Avenue started last week,” Bolling said on Monday, Jan. 9. “We did potholing and utility location. We are marking out and starting to grade the Shoo Flys, or temporary graded or paved travel lanes for motorists to use while construction is in progress. And we are currently looking at the beginning of February to start excavating. The county will be doing the excavation and back fill and all the grading work. And the paving and concrete work will be let out to contractors.”

At this point, Bolling does not have a total projected budget for the project but he did note that the expense will be split between the county’s road fund and impact fees collected by the county as a result of commercial development along the roadway.

As for just what the project will entail, Bolling said the road will be entirely redone, with a focus to be placed on the intersection of Basin Avenue and Dahlia Street, which is used by many to access a variety of stores and restaurants.

“We are completely redoing and building out the Dahlia intersection,” he remarked, adding, “And we will be doing full improvements to the road where it fronts the beginning of the old Binion property. From there, there will be one lane in each direction, with bike lanes on both sides. The road will be removed, excavated to full depth, replaced with pit run materials and finished with Type II gravel and asphalt-concrete paving.”

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com