I-15 widening prompts concerns of neighbors

Heather Rawlyk

Thursday, May 27, 2004 | 9:40 a.m.

Residents and business owners were given a chance to put in their final two cents at a public meeting Wednesday night regarding a Las Vegas highway-widening project that could potentially affect their turf.

The Nevada Department of Transportation held its final public meeting from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the County Government Center Community Room, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway, in an effort to educate and collect comments regarding Project Neon, the proposed improvements to enhance Interstate 15 from Sahara Avenue to the U.S. 95 interchange.

The open meeting displayed four alternatives to widening I-15, including doubling the width of the overall freeway or adding a collective distribution system to separate motorists traveling to or from U.S. 95. The separation would aim to reduce congestion between Charleston Boulevard and U.S.95.

Three alternatives for connecting Martin Luther King Boulevard to Industrial Road, operational improvements at the I-15 and Charleston Boulevard interchange and two options for reworking Oakey Boulevard and Wyoming Avenue were also presented for public viewing.

Kim Nokes, an engineer with Parsons, a firm working on the design of the project, said the majority of alteratives would impact the same corridor -- a quarter-mile-wide strip on the west side of the freeway.

Between 30 and 50 residential properties, including apartment complexes, could be affected depending on the final design, Nokes said.

Residents and businesses of areas west of downtown shared equal concerns about losing their land, while those unaffected by the project appeared excited to see solutions to traffic woes.

Joel Royber, 53, a resident on the west side of the freeway, worries that his stomping grounds will be affected by the changes.

"Well, my neighborhood's at stake here," he said. "We just paid off our home, so if we have to leave, it's gonna hurt. I'm just hoping the whole neighborhood isn't affected by this."

Brianne Self, 29, whose family owns a small business in that area, said she attended Wednesday's meeting to get details about which locations would be affected by the project.

"We're all worried about it, but we will relocate if we need to," she said. "I'm just here tonight to see if that's really something we're going to need to start considering. So far, it all seems very up in the air."

Meanwhile, Bill Patrelli, 46, of southwest Las Vegas pointed out the positive side of the improvements.

"Just imagine how nice it's going to be to jump on Sahara and get to bypass all that traffic on the freeway to get to 95," he said. "That's a real pain in the neck the way it is right now, having to get stuck in that mess when you just want to get down to the 95."

Barbara Cain, 39, of northwest Las Vegas was particularly pleased with ideas to improve the I-15 and Charleston Boulevard interchange.

"I don't know if people realize just how congested it gets there all day and every day," she said. "There are too many people getting on and off there at that interchange. If they can solve that, there will be a lot less traffic and fewer fender benders."

Input from Wednesday's meeting will help narrow the alternatives, Nokes said.

"We'll take everyone's comments into consideration," he said. "Some people are concerned, but I think they know some businesses and neighborhoods will be affected and understand that it's all necessary to make improvements."