How Many Dumptrucks?

The Sierra Reflections subdivision estimated it will excavate approximately 3,300,000 +- cubic yards of cut and fill of 3,550,000 +- cubic yards to create the roads, housing pads, mercury extraction and relocation and mercury coverage by the developers calculations. That leaves 250,000 cubic yards of fill that must be trucked into the site.

On-Site Trucking

Between the cutting and filling that's 3,300,000 cubic yards of material that has to be moved on the site from one place to another. Considering the size of a dump truck that can maneuver around a construction site, say 15 yard capacity, that's 220,000 dump truck loads across the property to redistribute mercury contaminated soil, move material from cuts to fill locations and keep open space virgin territory. Although, the plan states that all areas may have to be "remade" due to construction activities.

Our Washoe County Commissioners are confident that the construction company can move that much material and still isolate the mercury contaminated soil.

Off-site Trucking

But what do Pleasant Valley and/or Washoe Valley residents have to look forward to during construction? The developer has offered various timelines for construction from 4 years to 20 years.

This sheet in their application states that 250,000 yards of fill will have to be imported to satisfy their cut and fill requirements (if I am mis-reading this, please let me know). So, if a large dump truck and trailer like we see in our area regularly is used with a capacity of 30 cubic yards, that is 8,333 loads. Assuming those trucks have to return to base, that is 16,666 trips through Pleasant Valley. If the project takes four years and 250 work days per year at 8 hours a day, as is optimistically proposed, that is 2 trucks per hour of these giant truck/trailer combos through Pleasant Valley/Washoe Valley every work day for four years. Even more if you figure in an 8 hour workday, weekends and holidays.

Does the above note from the application say that an additional 425,000 cubic yards of material will be needed from outside the project? if, so, almost double the above calculations. At any rate, they don't seem to have answered the question.

Another section of the application states else:

Plus, county regulations say this imported fill has to be clean, uncontaminated fill from somewhere. What will those people have to put up with?

Is there any concern for the massive amount of truck trips on Old Hwy 395, the wear on the road, the safety concerns, the noise and commotion of these massive trucks?

Or the massive amount of cut and fill work in the project itself? The developer states that mercury contaminated soil will be surgically cut out and placed in precise containment spaces, or covered with precisely sized cover. This in an area with a flood prone creek traversing the site, over several years. Is that realistic? How can millions of cubic yards of contaminated material be so precisely moved and controlled in a toxic Super Fund Site?

As mentioned before, the application states that the entire project site may be affected by construction activities and have to be "remade" to appear natural.

While public comments warned of the traffic effects of the finished and occupied subdivision, traffic and safety have to be considered during construction also.

Just one of many things about this project that don't seem to add up or make sense.