RTC Washoe County set to begin construction on new Rapid transit station on Virginia Street

The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Washoe County is set to begin construction on a new Rapid transit station on Virginia Street, across the street from the Peppermill Casino, on Jan. 23. The stop will be part of the RTC’s RAPID Virginia Line transit route.

The Rapid station provides amenities that include level-boarding, lighting, real-time schedule information, seating for passengers waiting to board, protection from the elements and LED lighting. The Rapid Virginia Line runs approximately every 10 minutes on weekdays, providing a quick and convenient mode of transportation to travel the Virginia Street corridor from Meadowood Mall to the University of Nevada, Reno.

“The RTC’s Rapid Virginia Line route is the busiest route on our transit system so being able to support that ridership with the amenities and conveniences of a Rapid station is important to us,” said RTC Director of Public Transportation and Operations Mark Maloney. “We know a lot of people use this stop to get to work, shopping, entertainment, dining and more, and it’s time that we upgrade it to a Rapid station to encourage people to continue to choose to take transit.”

Q&D Construction will start with removing the existing bus stop and then start working from the back of the new station towards the road. Traffic control during construction will keep two through lanes open for the majority of work, but there will be times when the construction team needs to do more work and lanes will close or shift. The sidewalk on the east side of Virginia Street will be closed during construction, and pedestrians will be detoured to the west side of the road at the Peppermill and Brinkby intersections.

The project represents a $1.7 million investment in Washoe County.