$400 million allocated for Clark County roads

Thursday, Sept. 21, 2000 | 11:42 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A scaled-down state road-building program costing an estimated $650 million -- with nearly $400 million to be spent in Clark County -- has been adopted by the state Transportation Board.

Kent Cooper, program development manager for the state Transportation Department, said Wednesday a record $111 million of the $400 million for Southern Nevada will go toward repairing potholes, repaving roads and other maintenance projects.

And the focus on new construction will be widening U.S. 95 to eliminate the growing traffic bottlenecks.

For instance, $27 million is programmed for rebuilding overpasses over U.S. 95 at Torrey Pines Drive, Valley View Boulevard and Decatur Boulevard. The board also endorsed the design and construction of the Durango Drive interchange.

And $81.5 million is set aside for acquiring rights of way and for preparing the engineering for the widening of U.S. 95 from I-15 to Craig Road.

Included in this budget is $3.5 million for an environmental study toward building a superspeed train between Las Vegas and Southern California.

And there is $2 million to look at the feasibility of an Amtrak "Talgo" train running between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Talgo trains are now in use in Europe and provide high-speed transportation.

The state Transportation Board actually approved a higher construction budget than the $650 million. For Clark County, the initial figure was $620.2 million.

But Cooper said several of the projects won't get started next fiscal year. For instance, the proposed $50 million job on the Southern Beltway from I-515 to Stephanie Street is being delayed because of environmental problems.

The board also adopted a long-range highway projects budget through 2010 that calls for spending $1.6 billion in Clark County.