An official ribbon cutting for the new I-580 freeway was held Thursday morning.
The new 8.4 mile long roadway will finally connect Reno and Carson City. But that's not all - here are some other interesting facts courtesy of the Nevada Department of Transportation.
I-580 Freeway Facts
- 8.4 miles from the Mt. Rose Highway in south Reno to Washoe Valley.
- 9 bridges including the 1,722 foot Galena Creek Bridge
- Bridges: Bowers Mansion interchange (311ft), Parker Ranch (117 ft), Browns Creek (521 ft), St. James Parkway (160 ft), Pleasant Valley (328 ft), Steamboat Hills (656 ft), Galena Forest (918 ft) and Mt. Rose interchange (349 ft)
- Once the freeway opens in the upcoming weeks, motorists will be driving on a six-lane (three lanes in each direction), 65-miles-per-hour, completely divided freeway.
- The four longest bridges have automated de-icers imbedded in each bridge deck that will spray a "salt brine solution" (potassium acetate) automatically when the temperature is 32 degrees or below.
- Current project cost is about $430 million.
- Total cost of the project including construction, right-of-way and design is about $575 million. 90 percent of the project was federally funding.
