County hires engineering firm to study routes to Spring Creek following rail crash

ELKO — Elko County commissioners voted to hire Sanbell, an engineering firm with an office in Elko, to prepare a feasibility study of possible secondary routes to reach Spring Creek from Elko, a project talked about for years that gained more attention following a train derailment in Elko that blocked traffic to Spring Creek.

The Union Pacific train derailed Feb. 28, and there was potential damage to the 12th Street Bridge, so the bridge was closed. Traffic backed up for miles. Tons of corn were spilled along the tracks, but no one was seriously injured.

Commissioners agreed to pay Sanbell $207,640 to look at an emergency route and long-term potential routes from Elko, where drivers usually take 12th Street from Elko to Lamoille Highway. Drivers also can take Fifth Street or Errecart Boulevard to Lamoille Highway.

Before commissioners voted Nov. 6 to pay for the study out of infrastructure funds, they agreed the study should look at which direction county growth will go, provide a traffic study early in the process and look at options for future routes so the county can start alignments ahead of time.

Commissioner Delmo Andreozzi said he felt it was important for the county to tackle the issue of alternative routes, and he said he had "some real key objectives I want to be sure we get, but I don't want to waste money," if there isn't county support for spending money for the study.

"I think we need to do this. Citizens are clamoring for it," said Commissioner Rex Steninger, but Commissioner Jon Karr questioned whether spending the money on roads now would be a better use of the money.

"At some point we need to identify alignment. We've been talking about this for 40 years," Andreozzi said.

Commissioners in June authorized the selection of a consulting firm to provide a proposal for a feasibility study for connections to Lamoille Highway and an alternate route to Spring Creek, and Sanbell, formerly Summit Engineering, was the top choice.

The plan offered by Sanbell calls for identifying five potential routes to Spring Creek, and Andreozzi said the study should determine the destination of the cars going over the Lamoille Highway summit. He said the traffic bottlenecks are in Elko, and he questioned how much traffic the current Errecart Boulevard project would handle when it is extended to Lamoille Highway.

"We need to engage the city of Elko," he said.

Andreozzi also said there are emergency routes that could be built up to standard for access, and work could be done sooner than a full alternative route.

Commissioner Travis Gerber said snowplows could go over a secondary route "so at least people wouldn't be stranded" in case a major storm blocks Lamoille Highway.

Gallery: Train derailment

A freight train hauling grain on Union Pacific tracks through Elko, Nevada, derailed the morning of Feb. 28, 2024. No one was injured.

Steninger said the traffic study should be the first task for Sanbell, rather than task four as listed in the company's proposal, and Gerber said the fifth task is "a big issue for me. When would we pull the trigger on this?"

Sanbell's proposal lists the tasks it proposes, starting with a project kickoff to introduce the team, determining when and how many public meetings should be held, talking about timelines and meeting with emergency services.

Task 2 would be a site survey, mapping, legal description and easements, including research that could lead to a final alignment selection.

The third task would involve communication, keeping government boards updated and preliminary engineering estimates on roadway alignments, among other chores. The feasibility study would be 30% complete at this point.

The fourth task would include 60% design of the two best alignments selected with involvement from stakeholders and the community and a complete technical analysis, including a traffic analysis.

"The traffic data will allow us to gauge traffic growth within the selected corridor," the proposal states.

The study will include weekday morning and evening peak turns at intersections, trip generation, crash history and more, and document findings in a draft traffic impact study report that would be followed with a final report.

Sanbell also will research funding opportunities for construction, and the fifth task will be completion of the feasibility study.

Tom Hannum, an engineer with Sanbell and the project's leader, said the company can break up the tasks and meet commissioners' needs. He also said the study can be "pay as you go," so the expense doesn't come all at once.

His proposed timeline calls for the feasibility study to be completed in December 2025.

Nevada Department of Transportation is not included in the study of proposed alternate routes to Lamoille Highway although NDOT is responsible for Lamoille Highway, but Andreozzi said "in my mind, we have to have a plan and then engage NDOT."

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