The Nevada Department of Transportation selected Granite Construction to deliver preconstruction services for the Interstate 80 East Widening Project, a 13-mile corridor stretching from Vista Boulevard to USA Parkway in Washoe County. The initial agreement is valued at approximately $19 million, and is the start of a project expected to reach around $475 million when construction moves forward.

Of the total anticipated cost, $275 million will be supported through the United States Department of Transportation INFRA Grant program, a competitive federal funding stream aimed at nationally significant freight and highway projects. In an era where federal infrastructure dollars are tightly contested, securing INFRA backing reflects the corridor’s importance not just to Nevada, but to interstate commerce across the western United States.

Interstate 80 is one of the country’s primary east-west freight routes, linking California’s ports to logistics hubs in the Midwest and beyond. In Nevada, the stretch east of Sparks has become a critical connector between the Reno/Sparks metropolitan area and USA Parkway, the gateway to the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRIC). This fast-growing 160-square-mile economic hub supports major employers and is projected to generate 35,000 to 50,000 jobs in the next two decades. With heavy trucks sharing lanes with daily commuters, congestion and reliability concerns have grown steadily. This widening project is long overdue and is critically important for this Essential Freight Corridor.

NDOT’s Inaugural Progressive Design-Build Project

Granite’s appointment as Nevada’s first Progressive Design-Build (PDB) contractor marks a notable shift in how large scale highway projects are delivered in the state. Progressive Design-Build differs from traditional design-bid-build models by integrating contractor expertise into the earliest stages of project development. Instead of completing a full design before engaging a builder, the owner and contractor collaborate from concept through final pricing.

Nick Johnson, Chief of NDOT’s Project Management Division, explained the benefits. “The PDB process enables NDOT and Granite to work together from the earliest phases of design, allowing the team to refine alternatives, optimize sequencing, and fully leverage Granite’s integrated construction and materials capabilities,” Johnson stated. “This collaborative model is expected to maximize schedule efficiency, cost certainty, and project performance for all stakeholders.”

“For more than four decades, Granite has served as a strategic infrastructure partner to NDOT,” said Granite Vice President of Regional Operations, Chris Burke. “Our Nevada team combines the resource strength of the nation’s No. 1 highway contractor (ENR ranking) with deep local expertise and a proven record of delivering high performance transportation solutions. The I-80 East Widening Project represents the fifth collaborative delivery project awarded to Granite by NDOT, underscoring the strength of this long-term partnership.”

Preconstruction activities began in February 2026, with construction expected to begin in Q3 2027, and complete in the summer of 2031.