The proposed 6-lane road will run north to south, from Sparks Boulevard at Greg Street to the new Veterans Parkway in Reno - a road located south of South Meadows Parkway that will eventually connect to Geiger Grade.
The Southeast Connector Road will not be a freeway, but will appear more like McCarran Boulevard or newly built portions of Veterans Parkway in south Reno.
The project may reach completion in the next 10 years, and could cost an estimated $150 million to $170 million, said RTC Engineering Director Robert Russell. The preliminary plan is to fund the project through developer impact fees.
Right now, all that exists are 50 computer-modeled pathways that snake through a 1,500-foot wide corridor that take into consideration such factors as avoidance of wetlands, hills, businesses or houses.
The road itself, along with possible bike paths and sidewalks, would stretch about 120- to 150 feet wide.
All possible pathways would cross the Truckee River just west of Sparks Boulevard, and through part of Rosewood Lakes Golf Course, owned by the city of Reno.
However, Reno staff has been cooperative with RTC staff, in determining if a few golf course holes must be redesigned, or if the entire course must be moved to adjacent city lands. The RTC's consultant has hired a golf architect for this purpose, Russell said.
There are some homes on the east side of the golf course that rise about 50 feet above the course on a bluff. However, the road will be "the most beautifully screened road in the area," said RTC Executive Director Greg Krause.
The RTC will invite public input at its next meeting in a few months, when staff can narrow their options to three semi-finalist paths.
After that, the last meeting will be a public hearing, and the RTC board will select a final pathway.
The goal is to finish this public information and narrowing process by July.
"The board approved the road, but we are woefully short in funding," Krause said.
The long-term nature of the project demands that design work must be done now to address ever-increasing traffic demands. Over the last few years, Reno and Sparks have approved the construction of several, large-scale developments near the route that will add tens of thousands of new houses to the area following a housing market rebound expected by 2010.
Washoe County is home to an estimated 385,000 residents, according to 2007 figures provided by staff from Sparks, Reno and Washoe County.
By 2030, the region is expected to double in population, or expand to house an estimated 720,000 residents. Also by 2030, residents are expected to drive more than 19 million miles.
Because of the continued high cost of road construction - based on high international rates for steel, petroleum and concrete - residents will pay more money one way or another, Russell said.
"It's 'pay me now' or 'pay me later'," Russell said. "By sitting in traffic and burning gas, you are paying an indirect tax."
Russell said idling traffic costs drivers money in wasted gas, time and air pollution. It also increases the price for goods that must be transported by trucks that are idling in traffic.
Costs for building the Southeast Connector Road aren't expected to go down, even with the slump in the economy, Krause said. RTC staff has seen an average 10 percent hike in the cost of building highways each year for the last 4 years, Russell said.
In addition, the slump in the housing market and property values are expected to be short-term and won't lower the overall cost of the project in 10 years, Krause said.
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