Expansion of Nevada route 160 over Mountain Springs Pass now completed, there remains only widening of two-lane segments of this route through Pahrump to make this four lanes contiguous for the entire trip into Las Vegas. In response to a formal proposal – click on this button:
to Nye County Commissioners in December, 2019, the Public Works Director responded that Pahrump did not – yet – meet the minimum 100,000 population threshold for a U.S. DOT “RAISE” grant. Click on this button for explanation of why it is worth pursuing waiver from the federal administration to qualify for a grant of up to $25,000,000 to advance widening for the sake of safety and in view of anticipated growth.
Ten years ago the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) launched a series of improvements to state highway 160 from the Erskine Junction of SR-160+SR-159 over Mountain Springs Pass as well as widening approximately one mile from Calvada Boulevard southeasterly to where Rainbow Avenue branches off to the north. These addressed unsafe conditions along the principal route for commuters between Las Vegas and Pahrump as well as for these three categories of transport having national purpose:
These justified a federal grant secured by then Representative Cresent Hardy and so the projects did not impose a burden on the state highway account. There remains widening approximately ten miles of 160 remaining two lanes within the Town of Pahrump north from Basin to Roadrunner and southeasterly from Rainbow to past Manse where the highway becomes divided 4-lanes. There is also a longstanding need for roundabouts @ Calvada where fatal collisions have occurred, and Mountain Springs which is a tragedy waiting to happen. These were among the improvements recommended in 2023 by the 160-159 Corridor Study conducted by NDOT in 2022… illustrated + explained at length via this link:
https://www.dot.nv.gov/projects-programs/programs-studies/sr-160-and-sr-159-corridor-study
Additionally there is increasing agitation in the community for a right-turn lane from southbound-160 to westbound 372 where emergency vehicles are often delayed in the queue of traffic backing up the through lane. Opinion is also coalescing around the need for either a signal or traffic circle at the intersection of 160/Mesquite Avenue where serious collisions have occurred due to a dangerous mix of trucks heading for the landfill and recycling facilities, buses of detainees to/from the SNDC, and passenger cars moving at high speeds.
While it is unlikely that another federal grant is available, it is time for NDOT to step to the plate and follow up their recommendations with construction. The existing two lane roadway of 160 north of Basin Avenue lacking even paved shoulders, sidewalks, left + right-turning lanes and bereft of landscaping is a disgraceful way to welcome visitors to Death Valley. They deserve much better!
