Beltway’s new name is official

Friday, Feb. 25, 2005 | 9:05 a.m.

The Las Vegas Beltway Thursday was officially named for the man credited with helping bring the massive project to fruition.

The beltway, which was named in honor of Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury last year, was officially christened in a ceremony Thursday afternoon at Acacia Park in Henderson.

The ceremony was the culmination of a two-year effort supported by Gov. Kenny Guinn, Sen. Harry Reid and the Regional Transportation Commission, which Woodbury chairs.

Beltway signs bearing Woodbury's name were unveiled Thursday.

Woodbury, the longest-serving county commissioner, is credited with helping pass ballot initiatives in 1990 and 2002 that sped the construction of the $900 million project years ahead of schedule.

The commission early last year approved the resolution to rename the beltway, which goes from Henderson, around the west side of the valley and connects to Interstate 15 near Nellis Air Force Base. The latest stretch of the beltway, from Decatur Boulevard to Buffalo Drive, opened Dec. 23. Construction the next two pieces, from Buffalo Drive to West Sunset Road and from Sunset to Hualapai Way, began this month and are expected to be finished late next year.

The entire 53-mile beltway, currently a hodgepodge of high-speed freeway lanes and stop-and-go sections regulated by stoplights, is expected to be complete in 2013.

Woodbury, a Republican whose district includes Henderson and Boulder City, was elected to the Clark County Commission in 1982 and has sat on the RTC since 1985.