Durango Drive project opens

Wednesday, April 27, 2005 | 9:47 a.m.

Las Vegas Public Works was expected to open a new stretch of one of the valley's most heavily traveled thoroughfares today.

The Durango Drive improvement project, on which construction began in October, is expected to provide two travel lanes in each direction between the Las Vegas Beltway and Tropical Parkway. The one-mile portion, built by the Las Vegas Public Works Department for $4.5 million, also includes new medians, curbs, gutters, sidewalks and streetlights, department spokespeople said.

This "S-curve" will leave Durango improved south to Cheyenne Avenue, where it becomes Rampart Boulevard. Officials including Ward 6 Councilman Michael Mack are expected to unveil the new road this morning.

Public Works spokeswoman Sylvia Romero said officials had not yet projected how many cars are expected to travel along the new stretch of road, but that intersections at nearby Centennial Parkway typically handle about 15,000 vehicles a day.

It is expected to connect the nearby Durango Drive project from the beltway to Oso Blanca Road and from Tropical to Lone Mountain Road. Those projects, which cost more than $7 million, were completed in late 2003.

The improvements were funded by the Regional Transportation Commission, Las Vegas sanitation funds and special improvement district assessments, according to the public works department.