Looking down the road: Planners anticipate jams with downtown developments

Diana Sahagun

Monday, Dec. 3, 2001 | 9:36 a.m.

Drivers stuck in rush-hour traffic near the Spaghetti Bowl have a bird's-eye view of the future of downtown redevelopment. They will also have a new source of gridlock once several barren parcels of Union Pacific Railroad land are developed.

Proposals have been made for development of all but one of the parcels of downtown railroad land, but there still is not an easy route for drivers to get to Grand Central Parkway, the gateway to four parcels located between Charleston Boulevard and U.S. 95, west of downtown.

Even though no ground has been turned on the parcels, and completion of the projects is years away, city and state officials have been planning for road improvements that will be needed to accommodate visitors to a 59-acre furniture mart, a 39-acre outlet mall and a 61-acre project that could include an academic medical center. A fourth 10-acre parcel has been identified twice as the site of a high-tech center, but plans have fallen through.

For the past two years Las Vegas engineers have been preparing for new traffic to the projects by identifying improvements that would link downtown with the city's busy freeways.

One project that will help ease access to the furniture mart -- which could be the first project to break ground -- is an extension of Discovery Drive from Grand Central Parkway. The road would cut through the 59-acre parcel and connect to Martin Luther King Boulevard.

The developers and the city would split the cost, which is not yet final, Debbie Ackerman, a spokeswoman for the Public Works department, said. The project has been identified on a list of priorities to be funded through the Regional Transportation Commission over the next five years, she added.

Traffic engineers have also designed one-way couplets on Bonneville and Clark avenues, from Main Street to Sixth Street. The estimated cost would be $3 million, which would be funded through the RTC, Ackerman said. Construction could coincide with completion of the Regional Justice Center in April.

"We're taking a proactive approach, being ahead of the curve instead of being behind it," Ackerman said.

Other improvements around the area include the widening of Alta Drive between Martin Luther King Boulevard and Rancho Road -- which began in November -- and future widening of Rancho.

In addition to city projects, officials have been working with the Nevada Department of Transportation on road improvements proposed in a 1995 study of the Interstate 15-U.S. 95 interchange.

The improvements, anticipated to be done around 2010, include:

* U.S. 95 freeway ramps at F Street, taking drivers directly to Grand Central Parkway. Estimated cost $31 million.

* I-15 off-ramp to Alta Drive. Estimated cost $31 million.

* Reconfiguration of the Charleston Boulevard interchange, which is expected to begin in 2003. Estimated cost $54 million.

Funding would come from local gasoline tax, state gasoline tax, and some federal funding, Joe Peltier, transportation analyst for the department, said.

The city's traffic division has been using a computer simulation program to plan for future traffic needs in the downtown area.

The program allows planners to plug in various types of land-use designations to see how many trips would be generated by a project, Jorge Cervantes, assistant city traffic engineer, said. Once the land-use classification is decided, the program can determine how many lanes and streets are needed. Engineers will continue adding in new information as plans progress, he said.

Lesa Coder, director of the city's Business Development office, is halfway through a six-month negotiation period with the developers of the 61-acre parcel to determine what type of projects might be appropriate for the land.