County-Bellagio deal could make Strip alternate possible

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, Aug. 27, 1998 | 10:50 a.m.

If all goes well at a special Clark County Commission meeting Monday, the county and Bellagio hotel-casino will embark on a $40 million project to provide relief to the congested Las Vegas Strip.

An agreement to be considered by commissioners would allow the county to acquire rights-of-way from Bellagio so work can begin on a frontage road to Interstate 15 and a Harmon Avenue extension.

The Bellagio would be responsible for building the frontage road -- likely to be named Frank Sinatra Drive -- to parallel I-15 between Tropicana Avenue and Flamingo Road.

Ultimately the county plans to construct the frontage avenue from Russell Road to Industrial Road just behind the Mirage hotel-casino. The project includes underpasses below Tropicana and Flamingo.

"The thinking is that people who work in casinos can take the frontage road that may be called Frank Sinatra Drive without having to fight Strip traffic," said Bobby Shelton, public information officer for the county's Public Works Department.

Bellagio has agreed to build a segment of the frontage road -- complete with a sidewalk on the east side, curbs, gutters, utility installations and traffic control equipment -- and dedicate it to the county.

Driveways leading into the Strip hotels will also veer off from the frontage road.

Also in the agreement before the commission is the Harmon Avenue project. The county will pay Bellagio $25.58 per square foot of property on its northern edge. The appraised value of the land is $230 per square foot.

The Public Works Department plans to extend Harmon west, lifting it above the frontage road, across I-15 and Industrial Road and connect it with Polaris Avenue.

The county is in the process of extending Hacienda Avenue over the freeway, a project that is expected to alleviate traffic along Las Vegas Boulevard.

Each of the projects is expected to take between eight months and a year. The Harmon Avenue bridge will be one of the final phases.

The meeting Monday is scheduled to begin at 8:55 a.m. in the commission's chambers.