V&T to get funding boost with Stimulus money

February 14, 2001 The Nevada Department of Transportation board has approved a list of projects including funding for the next leg of the V&T Railroad reconstruction, the Nevada Appeal reports. The track now stretches from Virginia City past Eastgate Station where the train crosses Highway 50 and into the upper end of Carson River Canyon to what was the site of Eureka Siding.   The V&T project approved this week would use up to $3 million in stimulus funding to continue work on the railroad reconstruction.

Deputy NDOT Director Kent
Cooper said the money from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was available
because bids on other projects have come in below expectations. He said the
rules allow NDOT to apply leftover discretionary funding to other projects like
the V&T.

Cooper said the project may
not get the full $3 million in the transportation plan but should get at least
$1.5 million to $2 million.

"We’ll apply that to
whatever project they have that would be applicable," he said. "If they’ve got
right-of-way or something else we can accomplish, we’ll apply it to that."

V&T Railway Commission
Chairman Dwight Millard said the commission is right now trying to acquire the
property owned by Don Bently to extend their right-of-way down Carson River
Canyon.

"We’re shovel ready," he
said. "We’ve got the offer in Bently’s hands. We could actually start laying
track as fast as they could bid it."

The V&T has about 7.2
miles of track to lay to get through the canyon to the planned site of the
train station depot near Drako Way. That section of track will be the most
scenic part of the 17-mile trip once completed.

In addition, the commission
is applying for up to $29 million to finish the historic train project,
including construction of the Carson City depot. Commissioner Bob Hadfield said
at a commission meeting earlier this year he believes Sen. Harry Reid has a
good chance of getting most if not all the money for the project because one of
the purposes of stimulus grants is job creation. He said the railroad would not
only provide construction jobs but permanent employment in the retail
businesses that will develop at each end of the train ride.