Wrapping up work on first three fee-collection stations at Lake Mead

Monday, May 22, 2000 | 9:35 a.m.

The National Park Service is wrapping up work on the first three of nine fee-collection stations at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

Construction crews have targeted June 15 as the completion date for the three stations, according to agency spokesman Bert Byers.

The park, a destination for nearly 10 million visitors per year, is one of the last in the Interior Department to adopt a fee-collection program that was authorized by Congress in 1996.

"Eighty percent of the fees collected will retmain here at Lake Mead for upkeep and maintenance," Byers said. "So the visitors will see the benefits of their entrance fees in projects that will make Lake Mead recreation a more rewarding experience."

Because the first three stations will open midyear, the initial annual $20 pass will be sold at half price, as will the initial $20 fee for vessel launching. Passes needed for a visitor's additional vehicles or vessels will be sold at the normal price of $10 each.

Visitors will have to pay $5 per vehicles for a five-day pass if they do not have an annual Lake Mead pass or one of the others sold nationally, such as the $50 National Parks Pass, which is honored at all national parks.

Each of the nine stations will cost an average of $600,000 to build, Byers said.