Dignitaries gather to tout monorail

Friday, Feb. 20, 2004 | 10:31 a.m.

Local and federal officials were to herald the completed construction of four miles of monorail today at the Las Vegas Hilton monorail station, but they still aren't saying exactly when passengers can start using it.

The news conference is one of several media events leading up to the opening of the system.

The opening had been tentatively planned for January. Now officials say it should open before April, but they can't provide a precise date.

Todd Walker, a spokesman for the Las Vegas Monorail Co., the operating company for the system, said his company has been consistent.

"In all of our material we have discussed the first quarter," he said. "We still plan on opening the system in the first quarter of 2004."

Walker said no event or problem slowed down the opening and construction is still on time. He said it is difficult to pinpoint the opening date of a large system such as the monorail.

"It has many moving parts and it's a large system," Walker said.

Today's event will unite members of Nevada's congressional delegation with representatives of the local transportation industry to laud the monorail.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Las Vegas, also are scheduled to discuss the appropriation of $20 million in federal funds to extend the Las Vegas Monorail from Sahara Avenue to downtown Las Vegas, a project that should be complete by 2008.

Reid said the monorail represents one of the world's most advanced public transportation systems.

"For months now, we've all been watching the construction of the monorail, and it has been a fascinating project," Reid said in a written release today. "Now the first phase is done, and soon we'll all finally get a chance to ride it."

"The monorail will help cut down on traffic congestion and air pollution around the Strip and it will also be a lot of fun for tourists and Nevadans alike. I'm very happy I was able to get matching federal funds to expand the monorail to downtown and I'm looking forward to seeing that part of the project too."

Berkley had similar comments.

"I am pleased that I could play a role in helping secure the funding needed to bring the monorail downtown, and I look forward to watching as Phase 2 of the project turns from a dream into reality," said Berkley, a member of the House Transportation Committee. "What we are seeing here today is just the beginning of a very bright future."

Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury and Las Vegas Councilman Michael Mack, both members of the Regional Transportation Commission, were also expected to attend today's news conference. Also expected was Henderson Mayor James Gibson, chairman of Transit Systems Management, the monorail's management company, and RTC General Manager Jacob Snow.

Snow, who guided the RTC while the public agency drafted the initial investment and engineering studies that established the framework for the project, said the next phase of the project will cost about $454 million.

About one-third of that will come from bonds similar to those that paid for the existing system. Another third will come from a federal low-interest loan, and the remainder will come from federal grants such as the one Reid and Berkley secured in the appropriations process, Snow said.

The first four miles of monorail were covered with $650 million in private bond sales and connect eight major Las Vegas resorts with more than 24,000 hotel rooms from the Sahara to the MGM Grand. Plans call for the downtown extension and, in a third phase of work, for an extension to McCarran International Airport.