Errecart Boulevard leaves Lamoille Highway near Golden Health Family Pharmacy and Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital. A short way in, the pavement ends and an excavated corridor carries on. Elko has already spent about $10 million on that corridor. At the Sept. 22 City Council meeting, city staff said about two-thirds of the Errecart alignment had been excavated and built up with embankments.
So the project is well past the idea stage. The excavation and embankment work is partly done and partly still ahead. Most of the road's cost, and the date it opens, now depend on whether the city can stack enough local money to cover the next phase and then the paving.
Where the road is meant to go
The project's formal name is the Errecart Boulevard and South Ninth Street connector. At the Oct. 7 meeting of the Elko Regional Transportation Commission, Board Chairman Delmo Andreozzi described it as a road of about 2 miles running from Errecart Bridge to Lamoille Highway. Elko Daily Free Press reported that he listed three jobs for it:
- a second way in and out of Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital
- better east-west connections across town
- a route between the hospital area and the west side of Elko that doesn't go through downtown
The newspaper's map shows the new road linking Errecart Boulevard to South Ninth Street. City staff describe South Ninth as a connector route to Lamoille Highway. Published coverage gives the endpoints in those two ways and doesn't yet offer a street-by-street map of the full alignment.
The dirt work is the part already paid for
Earthwork comes first because everything else sits on it. The city's first contract on the corridor was the Errecart Boulevard Connector Road and Water Line Extension, paid for with American Rescue Plan Act money. Great Basin Engineering was the contractor. The June 24, 2025 City Council minutes record the council formally accepting the finished work. The bid-day price was $8,990,345.45. Five change orders brought the final contract to $9,420,753.56, about 4.8 percent over the bid.
That first phase included water lines and digging out the right-of-way. It was funded with ARPA and city money. Altogether, Elko has put about $10 million into excavation and embankment so far. The city puts the full project at about $33.8 million. That means roughly 30 percent of the estimated cost has been spent, while about two-thirds of the Errecart earthwork is in place. The heaviest digging is front-loaded. The paving, gutters and finish work that turn graded earth into a drivable street come later.
Here is how the past 16 months unfolded:
- June 24, 2025: The City Council accepts Great Basin Engineering's phase one work.
- March 10, 2026: Council minutes record the city's application for a federal BUILD grant for the Errecart Boulevard and Ninth Street project.
- Sept. 22, 2026: City staff report the grant wasn't awarded, give the $10.3 million phase two estimate, and the council approves letters asking for county and RTC money.
- Oct. 7, 2026: The Regional Transportation Commission approves $2.6 million toward the project.
The $14 million grant that didn't come through
The March application asked the U.S. Department of Transportation for $14,015,397 through its BUILD program. According to the minutes, the request would have paid only for the road portion of the Errecart project, not water and sewer. It would have been a large share of the next phase's cost, but phase two also includes water work.
It didn't. Elko Daily Free Press reported on the Sept. 22 council meeting that the city did not receive federal funding for phase two. City Manager Jan Baum told the council the city could look to the county and the Regional Transportation Commission on top of its own funds. Assistant City Manager Dale Johnson said the city could apply for federal funding again next year.
That decision explains much of what Elko residents have watched happen this fall. With the federal grant off the table, the project now runs on several smaller local sources, each approved separately.
Piecing together local money for phase two
Phase two covers more water infrastructure, more right-of-way excavation, and more embankment on both Errecart and South Ninth Street. City staff said it is planned for fiscal year 2027. Andreozzi put the estimate for excavation, embankment, water improvements and the barrier wall at about $10.3 million.
Here is the money that has been named so far:
| Source | Amount | Status as of Oct. 12, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| City capital construction fund | $3.5 million | Set aside in the city budget for Errecart Boulevard |
| City of Elko diesel fuel tax revenues, held by the RTC | $2.1 million | Approved by the RTC on Oct. 7 |
| Elko County transportation funds, via the RTC | $500,000 | Approved by the RTC on Oct. 7 |
| Additional Elko County contribution | $5 million | Requested by City Council on Sept. 22, not approved |
The diesel tax figure lines up closely with another number. At the Sept. 22 meeting, the council noted that the city's diesel tax allocation through the RTC stood at $2,106,978 as of June 30, 2026. In the same discussion, that allocation was described as mostly going to debt service or the Idaho Street project. The $2.1 million approved on Oct. 7 is about the same size as that whole balance.
Together, the capital fund and the diesel tax money make up the $5.6 million the city says it has for this phase. Adding the county's $500,000 brings the total to about $6.1 million. That leaves roughly $4.2 million to find before the $10.3 million phase is covered. On Sept. 22, staff said the $5 million county share would bring the total to about $10.6 million. If bids came in at the engineer's estimate, they said, the city could pay for phase two without bonding. Andreozzi also said the city may look for more money later for paving and gutter work, which sits outside the phase two estimate.
What else the project carries
The road also brings water. Andreozzi said the project will help extend Elko's water system to higher elevations, and both phases include water infrastructure along with the roadbed. That helps explain why the work is being built in this order. Pipe and grading have to be in the ground before pavement can go on top.
He also spoke about how far the effect could reach. Elko Daily Free Press quoted him after the Oct. 7 vote:
"The regional impact of this is far and wide. It's been on the books for as long as I can remember and I cannot wait to move this into the done pile."
The newspaper also reported that he said the project could affect about 85 percent of Elko County's population. A new way into the area's regional hospital helps explain that reach. Patients and visitors come from well outside city limits.
What hasn't been announced yet
At the Sept. 22 meeting, staff said phase two had not gone out to bid. The plan was to send drawings to the Nevada Department of Transportation for approval before bidding. No construction start date or completion date was given. The coverage reviewed for this post doesn't name a phase two contractor or describe any detours or lane closures for the project.
The next public milestones are NDOT's review of the drawings, a bid opening, and whatever Elko County decides about the $5 million request. Until paving money is lined up, the Errecart corridor will keep looking like it does now. Two-thirds of the excavation and embankment is done, and every remaining piece of the road waits on a funding vote.
Carla Bailey follows these city and county decisions as closely as she follows the market, in English, Portuguese and Spanish. If you'd like to talk about how the connector and other Elko projects relate to where you live or plan to build, schedule a free consultation.
