Work on Water Street a step toward redevelopment

Jeffrey Libby

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2001 | 9:11 a.m.

Water Street public meeting.

Henderson Redevelopment Agency.

To hear comment on a $4.2 million project to upgrade utilities along South Water Street.

Wednesday, 6 p.m.

Henderson Convention Center, 200 Water St.

It's going to get worse before it gets better.

Water Street, the "Main Street" of Henderson's old downtown and the heart of the city's redevelopment effort, will be torn up in sections over a period of nine months beginning later this summer.

As part of a $4.2 million project to upgrade and add new utilities, a Phoenix-based company will install a $2.1 million storm drain system from Ocean Street to Lake Mead Drive, diverting underground the seasonal torrents of rain water that in the past have jumped curbs and flooded Water Street businesses.

The city will spend the other $2.1 million to upgrade existing utilities and to provide new underground lines capable of carrying fiber-optic cables for high speed communication systems.

It's all being done with a view toward attracting new businesses that expect easy access to utilities, say administrators with the redevelopment agency.

But just how URS Engineering tears the street up and how the street takes shape again after construction is complete remains undecided. The redevelopment agency is asking for input from citizens and businesses at a public meeting Wednesday.

"We want people to understand what we're doing, and if they don't like something, we want them to let us know," Bob Wilson, manager of the Redevelopment Agency, said.

Cody Walker, project coordinator for the agency, added that city staffers want input on the phasing of the project, sidewalk design, a possible bicycle lane and whether residents want more crosswalks.

But the first priority is eliminating the surface water that Walker said can cause cars to hydroplane even at 25 mph. Pedestrians also risk being splashed, he said.

City Councilman Jack Clark said the project will be completed in phases. There will be delays, he said, but everything will be done to ensure that businesses don't lose customers.

"Redevelopment is not an event, it's a process," Clark said.

Construction could start as early as August, with plans for completion by May 2002. Two lanes of traffic should remain open during construction, Walker said.

The storm drainage system as planned will run north from Ocean Street, emptying just north of Lake Mead Drive. The main drainage pipe would widen from 42 inches to 72 inches at its mouth to contain peak water run-off.

Wilson said flooding has been a perennial problem in the downtown area.

"In Henderson, water runs north," Wilson said. Which means that much of the water from the southern elevations, including Black Mountain and the Black Mountain Golf and Country Club, runs down Water Street on its way to the valley floor.

Until two years ago, when crews built barricades in several places to keep water running in shallow gutters on both sides of the street, businesses often complained of flooding, Wilson said.

"We don't want to have a business express an interest, and then have to say, 'By the way, bring sandbags when you come,' " Walker said. "The improvements will make the downtown an easier sell."

The improvements will be financed in part by federal grants.