Media Contact: Karl Walquist, (775) 834-3891

Another link in the Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway has been completed in the Truckee River Canyon east of Reno-Sparks. The latest addition to the bikeway stretches for about two miles through NV Energy's Tracy Generating Station property and the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center from Waltham Way to the USA Parkway exit along Highway 80.

This section of the bikeway, sandwiched between the highway and the Truckee River, will link approximately nine miles of trail and resulted from a collaborative effort by the bikeway organization, NV Energy and the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRI), according to Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway President Janet Phillips. 

"NV Energy and TRI are the first private landowners to step up and allow us to have access. It sets a good example and shows leadership. I think others will follow,"Phillips said. In addition, the NV Energy Foundation gave the bikeway organization a $6,200 grant for security fencing associated with the new trail. 

The completed section of dirt trail is located atop a wide manmade berm that runs along the north side of the river, and it should also aid erosion and weed control efforts, according to Mary Simmons, vice president of external affairs for NV Energy."We are proud to be associated with the Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway,"Simmons said."Besides serving as an important recreational asset for this region, the interpretive kiosks along the route will help people learn about the rich history and the incredible value of the Truckee River."

Simmons said NV Energy has been working cooperatively with the Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway for many years on completion of various sections of trail, and that the trail at Tracy, which can also serve as an access road for maintenance, was constructed with the bikeway in mind.

NV Energy representatives, the Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway and TRI are celebrating the completion of trail project on April 26 at 10:30 a.m.

Phillips said more than half of the 116- mile bikeway has been completed, with the longest sections located between Tahoe City and Truckee, from Verdi to the Vista Exit in Sparks, and from Wadsworth to Pyramid Lake. Each of those sections is approximately 20 miles long. Pending grant approval, and concurrence by the Truckee Meadows Water Authority, construction could start in 2010 on a 3-mile section of trail along Highway 80 between Verdi and the California state line.

NV Energy, Inc. is a holding company with principal subsidiaries, Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, doing business as NV Energy. Serving a combined 54,500-square-mile service territory, NV Energy provides a wide range of energy services and products to approximately 2.4 million citizens of Nevada and nearly 40 million tourists annually. For more information, visitwww.nvenergy.com.