Speedway traffic plan mapped out

Pauline Bell

Thursday, Sept. 12, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

This weekend's inaugural race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be a trial run when it comes to spectator traffic.

Officials expect between 30,000 and 40,000 people and about 15,000 private vehicles for the Las Vegas 500K race. They say the low traffic volume will give them a chance to gauge where future problems could occur. Yet, they are cautiously optimistic the first race will go off without a hitch.

But the Clark County Department of Public Works has issued an advisory warning travellers of possible delays on Interstate 15 during the three-day event, especially Sunday with the main event is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

"Delays should be anticipated primarily between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and from approximately 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.," the memorandum said.

The main access to the $200 million facility will be from the interstate highway via the newly constructed speedway interchange. Crews have been racing toward completion of the road project, leaving fans wondering whether it would be finished in time.

"It is scheduled to open Friday morning," said Hugh McDonough, project manager for the speedway. The interchange was built at a cost of $3.5 million, with the tab being picked up by the speedway.

The interchange will greatly aid the smooth flow of traffic, said Trooper Steve Harney, spokesman for the Nevada Highway Patrol. "Most facilities don't have an actual ramp off the interstate system. This will help traffic move a lot smoother in and out at the same time," he said.

Motorists will go from the highway onto a two-lane off-ramp onto ingress lanes on Speedway Boulevard. The county says there are five ingress lanes, while speedway officials say there are six. The road eventually widens into eight to 10 lanes accessing the 40,000-vehicle parking lot, McDonough said.

Drivers will leave via egress lanes, again the county says five and the speedway says six, which will merge onto the two-lane southbound I-15 on-ramp, which will then have to yield to southbound interstate traffic coming from the north.

Commercial vehicles like buses, taxis and limousines will exit the interstate at Craig Road and use Las Vegas Boulevard North to access and leave the speedway, McDonough said.

Public safety officials have been meeting with speedway representatives all summer to plan for the three-day event to launch the facility.

"This is our first operation and although it will be a little on the rough side because of the ongoing construction (at the speedway), we should be able to have a quality event, get people in and out safely and not have a major adverse impact on traffic conditions near the speedway or on Interstate 15," said Capt. Carl Fruge, head of Metro's traffic bureau, who is spearheading the effort.

Representatives from the Nevada Highway Patrol, Metro, North Las Vegas Police, Nellis Air Force Base, fire department officials, Mercy Ambulance and city, county and state traffic engineers will be stationed at a command center located at the speedway.

One safety official will be stationed atop the speedway grandstand to monitor activities and relay information about problems to the command post, where officials will decide how to respond, Fruge said.

The speedway is hiring more than 100 off-duty public safety officers, including Metro and NHP personnel, to staff the three-day event. Fruge said cost hasn't been determined because each day will require different staffing levels depending on anticipated crowds.

He said the average cost of staffing an event like this is $40 an hour because of equipment costs.

Eventually, the speedway will boast a 4,000-square-foot permanent command center atop the grandstand roof where emergency officials will be stationed. It will be situated about 160 feet in the air and safety representatives will have a 360-degree view of the speedway property and surrounding area including the roads from the glassed-in booth.

"If there are any problems they will be able to communicate directly with their departments and do whatever is necessary," McDonough said.