Nevada DOT Begins Work To Clear State Route 208 Through Wilson Canyon in Lyon County

NEVADA – After a big landslide, the Nevada Department of Transportation will start emergency work on State Route 208 through the Wilson Canyon in Lyon County on Friday, January 20.

On January 10, a landslide and rockfall happened in the Wilson Canyon between Smith Valley and Yerington. They blocked about 400 feet of the road. The next morning, geotechnical engineers from NDOT checked out the area and found that the rockface was still unstable. In order to start repairs as soon as it is safe to do so, crews kept looking at the area with drones to see if there were any new dangers caused by recent storms.

The NDOT has now finished putting together an emergency construction contract to fix things. Experts in removing rockfalls will first scale and remove any loose rocks left in the area to make it safe for road repair work. Then, crews will work 24 hours a day to remove the thousands of cubic yards of rocks that fell on the road and fix any damage to the road surface.

NDOT hopes to temporarily open the road to one-way traffic in the next few weeks, but they haven’t decided on a date yet. Between Hudson Aurora Road and State Route 339, the road will remain closed to through traffic for the time being. NDOT will let people in the area know about the road repairs through Twitter (@NevadaDOTReno) and the news section of dot.nv.gov. Before driving, drivers can also go to NVRoads.com to find out about current highway conditions and rules.

Every day, about 1,800 drivers pass through the area. In the rural area, there aren’t many other routes, but you could take U.S. 95A/U.S. 50 or U.S. 395 south or north of the area to get to Yerington or Douglas County.

Recent winter storms that dropped a lot of rain could bring water, snow, rocks, mud, and other potentially dangerous things to the roads across the region. NDOT reminds drivers to avoid going places they don’t need to and to drive slowly and carefully when it’s raining or snowing. At dot.nv.gov/winter, you can find safety tips for driving in the winter.

Credits: Carson Now