The Road Ahead With RTC: Arlington Avenue Bridges

SPONSORED: The Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County is moving forward with the final design of two major downtown Reno bridges. The RTC opened the Arlington Avenue Bridges Virtual Public Meeting, last week. That runs from about a month and ends Friday, June 30. People can find video link at ArlingtonBridges.com Results from the August 2022 public survey, project updates, and the next steps are part of the presentation.

The south bridge will continue to span the river with no piers. The north bridge currently has two piers but the new one will only have one. That will be helpful during flood events. The RTC is using the design options that the public preferred in our survey. That will be an all-metal bridge and pedestrian rails with custom column lighting and tall pylons at the ends of each bridge. It will also include better pedestrian and bike access.

Construction is expected to begin in 2025. Arlington Avenue will be closed during the two-year construction period. The RTC expects one-way traffic on a couple of blocks of West 1st Street. It also expects one lane of traffic on Island Avenue for a few months during south bridge construction but it does not expect long delays for traffic and pedestrians. For safety, Wingfield Park will be closed for the duration of construction. Recreational river access is expected to be available for most of the project. Construction will happen on one bridge at a time. When one bridge is under construction, the other channel of the river will be open.

The RTC is finalizing its design plans and obtaining all necessary environmental permits. The project represents a 100-year infrastructure investment.

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