RENO, Nevada (KOLO) – Drivers are advised to travel 25 miles around this bend along Lakeside Drive and Holcomb Ranch Lane. Most cars obey a sign. Other warning signs have been vandalized by drivers whose cars were affected, or who were simply driving too fast on the road.
They landed at the historic Silver Circle Ranch Property when the driver lost control.
“What happened was when the car was going too fast, it couldn’t get through,” said Landess Witmer, owner of the historic Silver Circle Ranch. “So, rollovers are so bad, so scary. It happens all day and night, and it’s dangerous,” she said.
Witmer has lots of photos of cars that eventually destroyed the fence, leaving enough glass behind that the horses couldn’t graze.
Some drivers have insurance and others do not. Either way, she said it wasn’t an expense that had to be incurred.
“I’m hoping NDOT will help us put up proper signage, maybe guardrails,” she said. According to a map of the area, this is a national road.
Nevada DOT says they have engineers here. NDOT said there were seven crashes over a three-year period – with some injuries not uncommon for a road like this.
Future plans are to resurface the area.
A guardrail on this side of the road might not prevent a car from falling more than ten feet off the road, but that probably isn’t the answer. The NDOT said the guardrail could obstruct visibility or access to nearby roads,
NDOT does acknowledge that broken signs along this curve need and will be replaced. While nothing is conclusive at this point, there is talk of moving the road to the county.
Washoe County Commissioners approved development south of the marker. Some residents said such a move risked causing more chaos and danger.
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