Guinn backs fast tracking for Henderson interchange

Monday, Feb. 18, 2002 | 9:35 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Clark County officials have gained a sympathetic ear from Gov. Kenny Guinn to speed up construction of the planned interchange of the Las Vegas Beltway and U.S. 95, which is being called the Henderson Spaghetti Bowl.

Guinn told Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury and Regional Transportation Commission General Manager Jacob Snow that it should be a priority project.

Woodbury and Snow urged the state Transportation Board to list the Henderson job as a "super project" along with five others in the state that are at the top of the construction program.

Snow told reporters after the meeting the job will cost $110 million to $120 million. Local government has put up $37 million, the state has contributed about $20 million and another $60 million is needed to accelerate the job.

The design is done and it is ready to go out to bid this year, Snow said.

"If we don't fix this, it will get tangled up," Guinn said, noting the fast population and traffic growth in the area.

Woodbury and Snow also urged more funding for improvements on U.S. 95, Interstate 15 and the beltway.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, a member of the board, said the transportation plans by Clark County overlooks urban planning, mass transportation and car-pooling as ways to relieve the traffic congestion.

Mass transit, Woodbury replied, is a major part of the transportation plan. Car pooling is also being encouraged.

Snow said a new federal law permits a business to receive a $1,200 per employee tax deduction for the workers using mass transit. He said a company could subsidize bus tickets or do other things to get the employees out of their cars.