Federal aid could unclog beltway quickly

Adrienne Packer

Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2001 | 10 a.m.

Congested portions of the Las Vegas Beltway will be improved sooner than anticipated if Clark County secures the federal assistance it passed up years ago when it started the $1.5 billion project.

Public Works engineers said Tuesday they plan to conduct environmental impact studies required by the Federal Highway Administration before transportation funding is granted.

Federal assistance would allow the county to accelerate its plan to add a lane in both directions between Stephanie Street and U.S. 95 and stretch the full-fledged freeway from Decatur Boulevard to Rainbow Boulevard.

"We're basically looking at starting from scratch with the Federal Highway Administration," said Robert Herr, project engineer for the Public Works Department. "We'll get in line for federal funding, but there are a lot of disputes about where that money can best be spent."

County officials were criticized in 1997, when they opted not to conduct the federally required environmental studies, losing out on funding. The county instead performed its own impact studies.

Public Works spokesman Bobby Shelton said the federal environmental study wasn't the only requirement for funding. The federal government won't issue grants until an entire project is designed.

When the county embarked on the 53-mile beltway around the Las Vegas Valley, it only had a vague idea of the highway's path, and built the roadway based on development and traffic demands.

The county decided to pursue federal funding because the project is fully designed, not because it has fallen short of money, Shelton said.

If federal assistance is granted, Shelton and Herr said the two priorities would be to improve portions of the beltway already nearing traffic capacity.

"The problem is, if we anticipated a 50 percent traffic growth when we started this, people would have laughed at us," Herr said.

Herr showed rush-hour traffic creeping along two lanes near Stephanie toward U.S. 95.

Also, motorists routinely exceed the 45 mph speed limit beyond Decatur, often causing traffic accidents when traffic slows.

Expanding the beltway to three lanes between Decatur and Rainbow -- and increasing the speed limit to 65 mph -- is in the county's plans during the next decade. With federal funding, it would be done within the next two years.

The environmental impact studies are expected to take about 18 months.

Shelton said that, so far, the progress of the beltway has not been affected by the slow economy. Whether construction would be affected "depends on how much money comes in," Shelton said.

"All initial facilities were already planned and were minimally impacted by the Sept. 11 events," Shelton said.

Along with 1 percent of the motor vehicle tax, the county receives money from residential and commercial development. For every home worth $100,000, the county receives $500; commercial developments are taxed at a rate of 50 cents per square foot.

The county has completed 33 miles of the initial beltway, including 58 bridges and 38 traffic signals. About $470 million has so far been spent on completed portions of the highway, and another $35 million worth of work in under way.