Flatlands: Valley’s building boom takes its toll on residents’ tires

Erica Johnson

Monday, June 4, 2001 | 11:54 a.m.

Sloane Vlaisavich spent part of her one day off last week in the waiting area of Discount Tire Co. on Nellis Boulevard near Bonanza Road. She has had two flat tires in the past two months as a result of nails and screws construction crews have left behind on Las Vegas Valley roadways.

Vlaisavich, who said she lives near ongoing construction at Bonanza and Sandhill roads, said a metal bolt gave her a flat tire and blowout on the freeway a few weeks ago. This day, Vlaisavich said, a nail embedded in the tire's wall was the culprit.

Vlaisavich, who invested more than $2,300 on chrome wheel rims and new tires for her Honda Accord, said she spent $126 for a new tire the last time. She planned to have this one patched -- a much cheaper proposition.

Most Las Vegas companies charge between $6 and $17 to fix a flat, though some tire dealers, such as Discount Tire, repair them for free.

"It's really bad," said Vlaisavich. "These construction companies just leave their mess in the middle of the street. I don't even want to drive my car in certain areas now."

Las Vegas' construction industry is continuing to boom, as the area topped the Census Bureau's list of fastest-growing metropolitan area in the country through the 1990s. Many residents say the new communities are wreaking havoc on their tires.

Local tire experts say screws and nails left behind by construction crews are the leading causes of flat tires in Las Vegas. With the State Demographer's office estimating the addition of more than 400,000 people by 2010, the problem probably won't fade any time soon.

"We get an average of 25 to 35 flats a day, and they're usually from nails," said Mark Moser of Big O Tires at Pecos Road and Windmill Lane, a relatively new area of Henderson. "Over half the customers with nails in their tires say they live in areas where there is construction going on."

In Las Vegas, flat tires account for a higher percentage of service calls than other cities in its service area, according to a spokeswoman of the American Automobile Association's corporate office in San Francisco.

Tow truck drivers who fix those flats don't tell the corporate office how the tires got that way, but the difference in the statistics is telling, Lisa Foster said.

Just 13.2 percent of calls in most areas served by the California State Automobile Association, which includes Las Vegas, are flats. In Southern Nevada, that's 16.5 percent, she said.

The three Las Vegas ZIP codes responsible for the most calls: 89109, near UNLV, 10 percent; 89014, in Henderson, 8 percent; and 89134, in Summerlin, 5 percent, Foster said.

Chandra Brown brought her brand-new Chevy Tahoe into Big O Tires after realizing her right rear tire had a slow leak. Chandra, who said there is a lot of construction in her neighborhood near Lake Mead Drive and Gibson Road in Henderson, later learned that a nail was lodged in the tread.

"I can't believe this," Brown said. "I've only had my truck for two months, and I've already got a flat tire."

Josh Dowden, manager of Discount Tire on Nellis Boulevard, said his store repairs about 50 flats each day. Dowden said about 70 percent of flat tires caused by nails can be repaired.

Area mechanics say flat tires are usually fixed in one of two ways: a patch, in which the hole in the rubber is permanently sealed; or a plug patch, in which mechanics smooth the tire with a grinder, drill a hole in it and place a plug through the hole before sealing it with the patch.

No state laws govern what materials construction companies can leave behind near work sites. The law only leaves to the Nevada Highway Patrol the job of keeping roadways safe.

Trooper Alan Davidson said construction trucks are constantly inspected to ensure their loads are secure. Trucks seen dropping or spilling particles are fined $95, he said. Drivers and companies can be fined up to $190 if the falling particles cause an accident.

However, some valley construction companies have taken more aggressive steps to stem the number of road hazards from construction sites.

Angie Catterson of Curtis Construction Co. said that workers in the past often left behind nails and other sharp objects. A year ago she began instructing crews to determine the exact number of hard materials -- nails, screws and brackets -- they need and bring only what they will use to complete the project.

"This way they don't take a bunch of nails and screws and end up having them scattered all around the work site," Catterson said.

Even without the road hazards, tire experts said, most tires used in Las Vegas have a relatively short lifespan -- about two years -- particularly in the summer heat. Most companies offer insurance for the life of the tire for less than a dollar per tire.

Dowden said learning how to change a flat tire and carrying a spare may be the only way to avoid a day's worth of aggravation.

"Even if you have a service like AAA, they can't do much if you don't have a spare tire," Dowden said. "So, spare tires are important to get you where you need to go to fix your problem. Otherwise, you could be stuck on the side of the road."

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