Challenge delays beltway progress

Wednesday, March 5, 2003 | 9:30 a.m.

A court challenge may delay Las Vegas Beltway construction in the southwest.

MMC Construction is seeking a temporary restraining order to stop Clark County from awarding the winning $24.7 million bid for the construction of the beltway from Decatur Boulevard to Buffalo Road. Marti Ashcraft, a lawyer for MMC, said a hearing has been set in district court for March 14.

MMC and Frehner Construction, the second and third lowest bidders, respectively, both had opposed the bid award. MMC bid $25.3 million and Frehner $25.4 million for the work.

County officials said they hope the challenge to the bid would not slow the construction process. Martin Manning, Clark County Public Works director, said his department hopes to begin work on the project within 90 days.

The project would expand the frontage road now serving commuters into a full, four-lane interstate highway similar to the roadway now running between Decatur and Gibson Road in Henderson. The Interstate 215 project would eliminate the intersections that now dot the stretch of road.

Manning said converting the entire beltway into highway will reduce commuting times for motorists -- since it will allow for higher speed limits and fewer stop lights -- and it should make the beltway safer.

Intersections along the beltway, including one at Rainbow Boulevard, have had relatively high accidents rates. Safety experts and county officials have said speeding motorists and inattention to intersections along parts of the beltway have contributed to accidents and fatalities on the road.

"We're talking about the beltway here," Manning said. "We want to get that done as soon as possible."

Ashcraft said the court hearing on the temporary restraining order request is scheduled early enough that it may not hold up construction. While MMC, as the second highest bidder, would like to receive the award from the court, Judge David Wall will have to make the decision on the appropriate course of action, Ashcraft said.

Wall could award the contract to MMC or order the county to put the project back out for bid, Ashcraft said.

Ashcraft argued before the County Commission that Diamond Construction made numerous errors in filling out the bid form submitted to the county.

"All MMC wants is a level playing field," she said.

Attorney Richard Bryan, former Nevada governor and U.S. senator, who represents Frehner, also urged the commission to reject the bid, arguing that Diamond had hired a Frehner employee who had access to Frehner's bidding information while Diamond prepared its own bid.

"This bid was tainted and fatally flawed," Bryan told the commission. "Diamond received a competitive advantage."

The County Commission rejected the arguments. Commissioner Mark James said the issue of Frehner's former employee is between Frehner, Diamond and the employee, not for the county.

"I don't know how I could judge that," James said. "We can judge our own conduct and the conduct of the county employees."

Chris Kaempfer, the lawyer representing Diamond, said the issues were minor and should not lead to the county paying an extra $600,000 for the work. He said later Tuesday that his company will actively assist the county in the lawsuit.

Assistant District Attorney Holly Gordon told the commission that the problems with Diamond's bid amounted to "minor irregularities which the board has discretion to waive."

The board voted 5-0 to accept Diamond's bid, with Commissioner Rory Reid abstaining because he works for the same law firm as Bryan. Commissioner Myrna Williams absent.

Commissioner Bruce Woodbury predicted before the vote that whatever the board decided would end up in a court case. But Woodbury added that he hoped a protracted court case could be avoided because of the importance of the beltway to commuters.

"This is a very, very important project for the people of this community and we need to get on with it immediately," Woodbury said.