RTC looking for traffic management facility leader

Friday, Aug. 6, 2004 | 9:51 a.m.

Finding the right person to run a Regional Transportation Commission-controlled management facility now hinges on whether the state Transportation Department finds qualified applicants, spokeswoman for the county agency said Thursday.

The Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation operations management committee, created when the state turned over control of the traffic system to the Regional Transportation Commission, looked over the three-page agreement between FAST and the RTC describing the new job Thursday at the Clark County Government Center.

The document details plans to hire a manager, as well as maintenance staff, for the $4 million FAST facility, which would house the computerized system designers say will ease the flow of traffic throughout the Las Vegas Valley.

About three-quarters of the manager's salary would be paid through state funding, Ingrid Reisman, a spokeswoman for the RTC, said.

The system was previously under control of the state Transportation Department. The RTC assumed control in early July.

State transportation officials have estimated that the system -- a high-tech network of digital signs, ramp meters and closed circuit cameras -- have previously estimated that FAST could lessen commute times on local traffic-clogged freeways up to 25 percent.

The FAST facility is expected to be complete in December.