Landscape & Aesthetics Program

The State Transportation Board approved the Landscape and Aesthetics Community Match Program to help communities add landscape and aesthetic treatments to existing State highways (“retrofitting”). The program provides for a variety of projects, such as landscaping, scenic beautification, transportation art, and community gateways that may not be covered by other funding programs. These matching funds are provided in addition to other cost sharing or enhancement programs through NDOT, such as the Transportation Enhancement Program, or the Federal Government. Electronic application forms for the Community Match and the Transportation Art program are available for your convenience.

Frankie Sue Del Papa, as then Attorney General and Transportation Board member in 2001, was appointed by the State Transportation Board to coordinate development of a State Landscape and Aesthetics Master Plan for Nevada's roads and highways. This plan established policies, procedures, standards, and guidelines for landscape and aesthetic treatments on Nevada's Roads and Highways. This plan, prepared by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, provides an enhanced vision for the state highway system, providing recommended policies and guiding principles, describing a three-step planning and design process, and discussing general characteristics that influence landscape and aesthetic planning and design for various classifications of highways, open space, and rest areas. The plan provides examples of varying treatments for those areas, explores alternative funding methods for program management, corridor planning, new construction, retrofitting and maintenance, and looks at future administrative and management implications.

The Landscape and Aesthetic section is conducting landscape and aesthetics Corridor Plans for eleven Nevada highway corridors. Corridor planning for I-15 and I-80 (Phase I) has been completed and three corridor plans are currently undergoing the final review and endorsement process by NDOT for Nevada's western U.S. highways: one for Southern US-95 in Clark County, including US-93 to Hoover Dam; one for US-95 including Alt US-95, Alt US-50 and portions of US-6 and US-50; and one for US-395 and the western portion of US-50 (Phase II). In Spring of 2007, the remainder of the Corridor Plans (Phase III) will begin. These corridors are: Corridor E: (East Half) US- 6 from Warm Springs Summit to Ely, Corridor F: US- 93 from the junction with I-15 at Apex to Ely, Corridor I: (East Half) US-50 from New Pass Summit, 40 miles west of Austin to the Utah state line (Border, east of Ely), Corridor J: US- 93 from Ely through Wells to the Idaho border at Jackpot. Alt 93 from Lages Station to Wendover.

The University of Nevada, Reno offers an illustrated presentation, Mapping Ecosystems Along Nevada Highways and the development of specifications for vegetation remediation which provides information and guidelines for revegetation on various sites along highways where disturbance has occurred. This project emphasizes native plant species selection and installation, maintenance requirements, and vegetation evaluation. You will note that it also addresses the invasion of various species of noxious weeds which cause environmental, economic, and fire hazard problems within Nevada and other states.

This document identifies major plant communities using satellite imagery, and overlays those plant communities with general soil classification units along highways across the state. It also recommends best procedures and management practices for vegetation remediation based on appropriate ecosystems and soil types.

You may notice voids in some of the presentation material. Information contained within this website is a work in progress and will be updated as the Landscape and Aesthetic Program develops.