Sunken beltway will keep peace in rural area

Wednesday, April 4, 2001 | 11:15 a.m.

Homeowners in the orchard-filled Gilcrease ranch area emerged victorious when the Clark County Commission agreed to depress a section of the planned northern leg of the Las Vegas Beltway.

The county originally allocated $22 million to open two lanes of temporary roadway in each direction from El Capitan Way to Jones Boulevard by early next year. Of that 3.5-mile leg, most of the portion east of Tenaya Way was to be built at street level.

But the commission voted 6-0 Tuesday, with Commissioner Myrna Williams absent, to spend an additional $840,000 to depress the roadway to 5 feet below grade from Rio Vista Street to Jones. That stretch, slightly more than a mile, will be accompanied by a 12-foot-high earthen berm to help shield neighboring residents from traffic noise.

Some residents hired their own engineer and met with county Public Works officials to convince them that a sunken roadway would help preserve the serenity of the mostly rural area. Among the residents pushing for the depressed roadway were Coast Casinos Chairman Michael Gaughan and Jeffrey Gale, husband of Janie Greenspun Gale, a member of the family that owns the Las Vegas Sun.

Residents such as Michael Close reiterated their desire for peace and quiet when they made their pitch at the commission meeting.

"This is the last rural stand," Close said. "We would appreciate it if we could keep the area the way it is for future generations and for people who want a rural lifestyle."

Jeffrey Gale also said the berm would save the county the money it would have had to spend to haul the excavated dirt away.

The option approved by the commission was one of eight prepared by the Public Works staff. The most expensive option would have been to spend an additional $22 million to depress the beltway to about 10 feet below grade with a concrete-lined drainage ditch.

Instead, the county will build a temporary earthen ditch that is expected to last for many years, said county engineer Mike Hand. As development increases, however, he said the county will eventually have to spend millions of dollars more to line the ditch with concrete in order to handle the expected increase in drainage flow. Otherwise, the earthen ditch could erode and create flooding.

"It is an equitable and viable option," Commissioner Chip Maxfield said.

Fellow Commissioner Mary Kincaid Chauncey lauded the Public Works staff for working with the residents.

"I, too, think this is a good compromise," she said.

As money becomes available the depressed roadway from Rio Vista to Jones will be lowered by as much as 5 more feet for the construction of three lanes in each direction. County engineers project that traffic volume along that roadway will reach 20,000 vehicles daily between 2005 and 2010.

The county expects by 2003 to connect a 53-mile roadway that runs through Green Valley to the south, Summerlin to the west and North Las Vegas to the north. But converting that entire stretch into a three-lane beltway in each direction may not be become reality for at least another five to 10 years beyond 2003.

The schedule will depend both on money and traffic demands.