$400 Million Dollars have been spent, and soon you will have a nice new bridge to walk or ride your bicycle across. But only for a few hours, so listen up!
Rush to Washoe! Run, Walk, or Bike the New I-580 Freeway. The public is invited to join the Nevada Department of Transportation in celebrating the soon to open I-580 Freeway, Saturday, July 28, 2012. Activities start at 7 a.m. and continue until 1 p.m. with the opportunity to bike, walk, or run along the freeway, including the Galena Creek Bridge – the longest concrete cathedral arch bridge in the nation.
I580_2012JulyPublicEvent-page-001
The event will include informational displays at various locations along the freeway describing many design features as well as an opportunity for an up close look at some of the heavy equipment used during construction.
Bicyclists riding from Carson City and the Washoe Valley will have access to the freeway in the area of the new Bowers Mansion Interchange – signs will be posted and volunteers available to assist in directing bicycle traffic entering from the south end of the new freeway. Pedestrians will not be allowed onto the alignment from the south end – pedestrians must access via the Mt. Rose Highway.
Schedule of events:

  • 7:00 AM: Start of bicycle ride from the Mt. Rose Interchange to the Bowers Mansion Interchange (roundtrip)
  • 7:30 AM: 5K/10K “Fun Run”
  • 8:00 AM: Booths open and freeway open to general event traffic
  • 1:00 PM: Vehicle and pedestrian access areas at the north end of the freeway will be closed to incoming traffic.  Event areas close and remaining vehicle traffic will be directed to exit the freeway via the Bowers Mansion Interchange.

The $400 million project involves constructing nine bridges and an eight-and-a-half-mile freeway from the Mount Rose Highway in Reno to the north end of Washoe Valley.

Galena Creek Bridge - Photo from Wikipedia


The freeway will officially open to traffic in late July or early August. I don’t believe bikes will be allowed on this stretch of freeway, but the good news is that when much of the auto traffic is diverted to the new freeway, riding your bike through Pleasant Valley on the old road will be…well, pleasant!
More details (including entering by bike on the Reno side), rules, and safety tips for this event can be found here: http://www.freewayextension.com/I-580_2012JulyEvent_Details.pdf