East Spanish Springs motorists cursing the traffic congestion along the two-lane stretch of Vista Boulevard will find relief in the future.

Crews for the Regional Transportation Commission are expanding Vista into a four-lane road starting a half-mile north of the North Los Altos Parkway intersection, and constructing additional left-turn lanes. That road construction is expected to conclude during the summer.

In the meantime, design work will begin in July to expand the last two-mile stretch of Vista Boulevard into four lanes, said Howard Riedl, senior engineer for the RTC.

This last two-lane portion of roadway stretches from Holy Cross Catholic Church to Wingfield Parkway.

However, design work to expand the road does not equate with imminent construction work for the project, Riedl said.

"That project is estimated to cost about $20 million," Riedl said. "We have the funds to design it, but we can't construct it until the funds become available."

The RTC, like state and local government agencies, are in the midst of budget cuts as dismal tax revenue figures and the mortgage foreclosure crisis continue. However, the agency is still charged with the timely maintenance and needed expansion of its local road network.

Residents say road widening is needed on Vista, as the area continues to grow with such developments as Pioneer Meadows and the proposed Wingfield Commons, as well as the recent opening of Golden Eagle Regional Sports Complex.

As designed, the 60-acre Wingfield Commons would house about 817 residential units - including single-family homes, condominiums and apartments, said Mike Hillerby, Executive Vice-President of the Wingfield Nevada group. However, it's likely to be fewer than that, when landscaping, patios, open space and other requirements are factored in, he said.

Now that Golden Eagle Regional Park and Sports Complex has opened, there will be an added 5,000 car trips per day on Vista Boulevard, Hillerby said.

"We are aware there is already a traffic problem on Vista," Hillerby said. "The expansion of the road is controlled by the Regional Transportation Commission, and we share the same frustration. Traffic has been here for a long time."

Michelle Robbins, a resident of Black Hills Drive in the Cassero Ranch development, said there are a large number of houses in that area, whose residents must use Vista Boulevard as their only major access road in and out of their neighborhoods.

"When we had a brush fire out here, it took us 45 minutes to an hour just to get out of the area and into Sparks," Robbins said.

Robbins said she was under the impression that the RTC might not widen that last section of Vista for another four years.