Road projects to help improve traffic flow

Monday, March 8, 1999 | 11:12 a.m.

Valley commuters can breathe a sigh of relief this month because March marks the completion of two major projects and the groundbreaking of another planned for completion in a year.

The last segment of Pebble Road will open Tuesday, the leg of Interstate 215 between Interstate 15 and Decatur Boulevard opens March 15 and ground will be broken for the Summerlin Parkway extension on Wednesday.

A golf-themed opening 2 p.m. Tuesday marks Clark County's completion of the half-mile stretch of Pebble Road connecting Eastern Avenue to Topaz Street in far southern Las Vegas.

Construction of the $2.6 million project, including channel improvements to Pittman Wash and bridge construction over the wash, began August 1998. The 100-foot-wide, four-lane road, includes safety lanes and a continuous left turn lane.

Pebble Road will be open from Green Valley Parkway to Las Vegas Boulevard South.

At the opening celebration, community members and dignitaries will chip balls from the new road into the wash at $1 per ball.

On the other side of the valley, the city of Las Vegas will hold a groundbreaking for the Summerlin Parkway/Las Vegas Beltway Project 10 a.m. Wednesday at Summerlin Parkway and Town Center Drive.

The $6.7 million project, beginning this month, will add 2.4 miles of landscaped parkway, a diamond interchange onto the future beltway at Town Center Drive and an overpass over Summerlin at Crestdale Lane. Road improvements on Anasazi Drive, including the addition of on and off ramps for future interchanges, will be part of the project.

By connecting to the beltway, the road will help ease traffic and make commutes easier, Debby Hauth, spokeswoman for Las Vegas public works, said.

A ribbon-cutting to mark the completion of the milelong beltway from I-15 to Decatur Boulevard near Russell Road will be 11:30 a.m. March 15.