FAST expected to speed traffic

Sonya Padgett

Tuesday, July 27, 1999 | 11:23 a.m.

Las Vegas drivers who pray everyday for a solution to delays on valley roads may have their hopes answered when the Nevada Department of Transportation gets a new freeway management system up and running.

The Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation, or FAST, will help city officials reduce congestion, improve incident response time and reduce the number of automobile accidents, NDOT Research Division Chief Keith Maki told the City Council Monday.

"The main advantage we see is the ability to add another lane for traffic without building another lane," Maki said.

The initial installment of FAST will begin with implementation of the 14-mile, $30 million pilot corridor in 2002, which will demonstrate the effectiveness of the system on a small section of the city's roadways, Maki said.

The pilot corridor will extend on Interstate 15 from I-215 to Lake Mead Boulevard and on U.S. 95 from I-15 to Charleston Boulevard, covering three of the four legs of the Spaghetti Bowl interchange.

The FAST system will allow three basic functions: traffic control, incident management and dissemination of travel information, project designer George Fares of Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc. said.

Video cameras, loop detectors and closed circuit televisions will send information instantly to a FAST control center, where workers will monitor traffic and pass along information about the status of city roadways to drivers, Maki said.

Nine message signs will inform travelers of problems -- such as closures, accidents or construction -- on the roads, Maki said.

Highway Advisory Radio, Trailblazer signs and lane use control signals will also be used to get the word out to Las Vegas drivers.

Four workers will run the FAST system, which will eventually need 26 staff members, Maki said.

NDOT decided to develop FAST in response to the findings of the Las Vegas Intelligent Transportation System Early Deployment Study conducted in 1996.

The study analyzed ways that new technology could be used to help reduce transportation problems.

Technology is becoming an increasingly popular way to relieve traffic problems. There are 40 similar systems in use throughout the country, Maki said.