BATTLE MOUNTAIN - Lander County Executive Director Gene Etcheverry met with project participants about the New Austin Loneliest Highway Visitor Center on Sept. 12 at the Shaw Engineering office in Reno from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
There were representatives from Shaw Engineering, the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) and Stantec Consulting. The group reviewed the budget and found the construction costs to exceed the project grant funding by $100,000. The project will now need to be scaled back, said Etcheverry. He does not know in which ways it will be scaled back.
"The visitor center project was subject to very innovative and creative design and engineering," said Etcheverry. "Unfortunately, the grant funding available falls somewhat short of that level of design."
The new center will be located on Main Street on ground once occupied by the old Austin Hotel, which burned down more than 30 years ago, said Etcheverry.
The project design has had to be reviewed by NDOT and the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) throughout the design process. The 90 percent design will be submitted soon to these two agencies.
Once the 90 percent design gets approved, then between the 90 percent and 100 percent design phase is when the project will be scaled back. Etcheverry will be working with NDOT and SHPO to make these changes, he said.
Etcheverry said he expects the 90 percent design to be back from NDOT and SHPO by early November and he is hoping to have the project out to bid by mid to late November so construction can begin at the beginning of the 2012 construction season. Etcheverry is hoping the center will be completed by the end of the construction season. It should be about a six-month project.
With the latest snag, the project is only about a month behind the original timeline, said Etcheverry. He said the new center will still be extraordinary even with a little bit of a scaled back design.
"If they ever get it done it will be good for the community and for tourism," said Dee Helming, secretary for the Austin Chamber of Commerce.
The preliminary 60 percent design of the center was returned by NDOT's environmental department with several minor changes the last week of July, said Etcheverry.
The center, which will be an information hub for Austin's many visitors who travel through the town each day, has had a complicated design and engineering process because the center's site is located in the historic district and it is subject to an expanded environmental review and a protracted federal Section 106 review, said Etcheverry. Section 106 has to do with historical significance and preservation, he explained.
The 60 percent design was unveiled April 28 to Lander County commissioners by Cynthia Albright, of Stantec Consulting, and approved unanimously by commissioners.
Stantec has been handling the design and environmental engineering aspects of the project.
During her presentation, Albright said a topographic map, a preliminary geotechnical evaluation, a Phase 1 environmental assessment and a slope assessment have been completed.
At the 90 percent design, the center includes a courtyard, informational kiosks and restrooms. It was also slated to include bench seating, picnic tables, an obelisk with designs on each side, screen panels featuring a Pony Express rider and a map of Austin and four raised planter beds with perennials and shade trees. Hardy plants that will survive in Austin will be selected, said Albright.
With the design having to be scaled back, Etcheverry said he is not sure if these plans will change by the time the project reaches its 100 percent design phase.
The center was right on track for design and construction until it hit a different snag in June 2010 with land conveyance issues which have been completely resolved, said Etcheverry.
The total estimated cost of the project is $648,865, with 95 percent of those funds, $616,422, coming from a grant through the Federal Highway Administration. The rest of the funding will come from the county and through NDOT's value in services provided.
Citizens and stakeholder have been able to give project input and feedback during the entire process through community meetings that have been held in Austin.[[In-content Ad]]
