Officials say beltway won’t end congestion

Scott Reeder

Wednesday, Aug. 26, 1998 | 10:36 a.m.

Within five years motorists will be using all segments of the Las Vegas Beltway but transportation officials are projecting that congestion on surface streets will remain high because of the valley's unabated growth.

"All this will do is help us keep up with the massive population growth we are experiencing," said Jim Caviola, a consultant with the project, who works for Parsons Transportation Group. "The average person will not notice much difference in congestion on city streets once this is complete."

But Mike Hand, the beltway's project manager, said the roadway will prevent traffic congestion from becoming even worse in the Las Vegas Valley.

"Will the average person notice much of a difference? I don't know. But I can tell you this will keep it from becoming a lot worse."

Area residents received a glimpse of what the completed beltway will look like Tuesday as they inspected maps of the beltway extension that will eventually wrap around the northern, western and southern parts of Las Vegas.

Col. Russell Bolt of Nellis Air Force Base expressed concern that the completed beltway may increase the volume of traffic cutting across the installation on the base's Range Road. He said the post may place guards on the road to prevent this from happening.

Representatives of the Clark County Department of Public Works, Nevada Department of Transportation, Clark County Regional Transportation Commission, Federal Highway Administration and city of North Las Vegas hosted the informational meeting at the North Las Vegas Air Terminal.

The completed roadway will be 52 miles long and cost about $500 million. It is being funded entirely by local tax monies, ranging from development fees to vehicle fees, said Patricia Cook, a spokesperson for the Clark County Department of Public Works.

Cook said the first stage of the beltway project, to be complete in 2003, will be a combination of six-lane expressways, four-lane highways, two-lane streets and frontage roads that will link together into a system wrapping around the city.

Much of the land where the beltway is being constructed is vacant. Auro Majumdar, an engineer with Clark County, said there are clear advantages to creating the beltway in areas where neighborhoods have not yet developed.

"This is a cheaper approach because the value of the land is not as high," he said.