Lake Mead bridge slated for repair

Monday, July 23, 2001 | 11:07 a.m.

A copy of the environmental assessment is available from Nancy Hendricks, resource management specialist at (702) 293-8756, or on the web at www.nps.gov/lame/pubicea.pdf

Address comments to: Superintendent, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, 601 Nevada Highway, Boulder City, NV 89005, Attention: Las Vegas Wash Stabilization EA.

Two federal agencies could begin repairing an unstable bridge near Lake Mead this fall.

The Federal Highway Administration discovered two years ago that the Northshore Road Bridge near Lake Mead is unstable and poses a threat to public safety.

Plans by the agency and the National Park Service to repair it are ready for public review.

The bridge, on Northshore Road in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area between the Las Vegas Bay Marina and Callville Bay, is not in immediate danger, National Park Service spokesman Bert Byers said. "It's not so bad that we think it could collapse at any moment."

But erosion from flooding in the Las Vegas Wash has washed away dirt from under the northern leg of the structure, a routine inspection in 1999 showed.

Another flood the intensity of the one that occurred in July 1999 could sweep away so much dirt that the bridge could fall, a highway agency consultant said.

In addition to repairing the bridge, the federal agencies will build structures to slow water flows and reduce erosion and restore the wetlands in that portion of the wash, which flows under Northshore Road.

The work will ensure public safety and improve water quality, Byers said.

By reducing erosion, the park service plans to reduce sediment draining into Lake Mead, the source of 85 percent of the Las Vegas Valley's water, according to an environmental assessment of the project. In addition, plants in the wetlands naturally filter water entering Lake Mead, scientists say.

Last year the park service estimated it would cost $2 million to repair the bridge, but public comments on an environmental impact statement could raise that if officials discover additional work in the wash is required, Byers said. The public comment period ends Aug. 17.

The Federal Highway Administration has enough discretionary funds to complete the bridge repairs, he said.

The park service is prepared to remove invasive plants, such as tamarisk, and restore the area with native ones such as cattails and other wetland plants suitable to Southern Nevada's desert, according to the environmental assessment.

The park service operates a nursery that nurtures native plants used along highways in the park and to restore wetlands. The nursery includes three greenhouses to coddle seedlings.

Once the park service hears from the public, the repair project could begin after October, Byers said.