Officials say dam bypass option is a near certainty

Friday, April 20, 2001 | 10:32 a.m.

Sen. Harry Reid and Boulder City Mayor Bob Ferraro said Thursday that the Hoover Dam bypass, a controversial proposal to build a bridge over the Colorado River a quarter-mile south of the dam, will almost certainly go forward.

The Federal Highway Administration selected a bridge site earlier this year that carves a slice from Sugar Loaf Mountain to build the new highway across the river. FHWA administrators say a new route is critically needed to relieve traffic congestion on the two-lane road over the Hoover Dam.

But some environmentalists and Boulder City community activists oppose the federal dam bypass as well as another proposed bypass, this one a state project, that would run south of the town.

They have argued that the two projects need to be linked. The activists also fear that the coming Canamex trade route designation, which would direct commercial traffic between Canada and Mexico through Las Vegas, will bring even more commercial traffic through one of Clark County's most historic communities.

Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday he doesn't believe the $198 million Hoover Dam bypass can be stopped.

"This thing has been going on for 15 years," he said. "The new bridge will come unless something unforeseen happens."

Reid said he met several times this week with Ferraro, who expressed similar sentiments.

The Sugar Loaf alternative "is set," the Boulder City mayor said. "We'll just have to live with that."

But the two political leaders suggested a possible way to reduce the ultimate traffic level is to designate a route through Laughlin and Bullhead City, Ariz., as a "Canamex alternate."

Ferraro said even with the new bridge south of the dam, the route on U.S. 95 will be congested. Truckers and others seeking a quick way to Las Vegas would likely go through Laughlin if they have the alternative, he said.

"A good portion of Canamex traffic can be rerouted," he said.

Sandra Parnes, chairwoman of the Committee for the Preservation of Boulder City, said she was disappointed that Reid and Ferraro are reconciled to the Hoover Dam bypass. But Boulder City residents who seek to link the two bypasses and the Canamex route will not quit fighting increased commercial traffic, she said.

"We're not just giving up," she said.