$389 million in RTC jobs OK’d

Stephen Curran

Friday, July 9, 2004 | 8:54 a.m.

The Regional Transportation Commission on Thursday gave the green light to more than $389 million in state Transportation Department projects proposed for the Las Vegas Valley next year.

The Transportation Department's plan includes 128 projects ranging from a $19,000 landscaping proposal to a $22 million interchange at U.S. 95 and Auto Mall Drive, all part of the state agency's proposed highway projects for 2005.

The Transportation Department, which pitched the proposals as part of its annual 17-county consultation process, expects the final plan to be ready in September, after the agency presents it to the state Transportation Board, said Kent Cooper, deputy director of planning for the Transportation Department.

Included is a $16 million improvement to the Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation project, a computerized system that would eventually include two kinds of digital signs, ramp meters and closed-circuit cameras for freeways in the Las Vegas Valley.

RTC board members expect the FAST project to work in concert with a new Web site that is to feature interactive maps detailing construction projects in the area.

The Web site, currently available only to RTC board members, is expected to be available to the public in mid-August, said Dan Andersen, project liaison for CH2M, the company contracted by the RTC to create the site.

The NDOT proposal also sets aside $6.7 million to pave rural roads as part of a federal mandate to reduce dust often stirred up by vehicles on gravel roads.

In keeping with the Environmental Protection Agency order, the valley has until 2006 to reduce dust particles.

NDOT has also set aside another $6.7 million in its 2006 proposed budget to finish the project.