Major flood plan OK’d

Friday, Dec. 10, 1999 | 10:55 a.m.

The Regional Flood Control District Board approved a landmark $30.8 million project that officials say will end flooding in the Charleston Underpass and other areas downstream.

Charleston Underpass, notorious for its transformation from a roadway to a waterway during rainstorms, has confounded local engineers for decades.

When the boulevard floods, it affects thousands of people living and working east of Main Street as well as traffic, the area's major trauma center at University Medical Center and ambulance service.

"This flood control project is a critical piece of the District's Master Plan that, when completed, will address a long-standing flood problem in the heart of our city," Mayor Oscar Goodman said.

Each city and Clark County represented on the board agreed in April to earmark bond funds for the underpass flood control project that will link to a widening under way for Interstate 15, Regional Flood Control Director Gale Fraser said on Thursday after the unanimous vote.

That's the first time flood bonds have been aimed at a specific project, he said.

"It's the biggest project we have ever funded," Fraser said, noting the Kyle Canyon detention basin ranks second at $13 million.

Three 12-foot by 9-foot concrete boxes will intercept flood water before it gets to the underpass, Fraser said.

The flood boxes also will protect businesses on Western Avenue, west of Charleston, and professional offices, stores and art galleries north of the boulevard. Basements in the area filled with muddy water after storms on July 8-16.

Once the boxes trap flood waters, the flow will travel north along I-15 to Washington Avenue's channel and then east into the Las Vegas Wash at Sandhill Drive. The six-mile Washington Avenue conduit is completed.

The combined Charleston/I-15 project has been under construction for eight years and adds up to more than $50 million, but it protects 1,000 homes along Washington Avenue that were threatened by heavy flooding.

And when Charleston Underpass floods, it wreaks havoc with the valley's traffic, Flood Control District Board Chairman Larry Brown said.

"It's the critical point in the middle of the valley," Brown said, who is a Las Vegas city councilman.

Although Charleston Underpass is in the city of Las Vegas, which Brown represents, ending floods there will affect the entire valley, he said.

"It's unprecedented on flood control that we dedicated approximately $30 million for one project," he said.

"What we traditionally do is have a funding pool, and as projects are ready, it's first come, first served."

He said approval took the realization from all member agencies -- which include Clark County cities from Mesquite to Henderson -- that the flooding at Charleston is a regional issue.

He said the representatives on the board could be "sometimes parochial," but they recognized that flood control at the site affects people downstream. The underpass also is a critically important traffic site because of its proximity to the Clark County Government Center and other downtown sites, Brown said.

Approval "signifies true regional support for a true regional project," he said.

The flood control project is expected to snarl traffic until April 2002, Brown said, along a 1.5 mile stretch between Alta to Sahara west of I-15.

"It may be inconvenient for a short time, but the end results will be good," Brown said, adding that the project will save taxpayer money by coordinating the flood control project with Nevada Department of Transportation's widening of I-15 between Charleston and Sahara.

Since 1989 consumers pay an extra quarter cent on every $1 spent in sales tax specifically set aside for flood control. So far Regional Flood Control has raised $300 million, Fraser said.

While it could take another 30 years before the Las Vegas Valley is flood-proofed, local officials are searching for ways to offer more protection to the eastern half of the valley after this summer's storms caused more than $20 million in public property damage. Sun reporter

Launce Rake contributed to this report.