Ramp lights to control freeway flow

Friday, Jan. 14, 2005 | 10:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The phrase "stop-and-go traffic" will take on a new meaning for many freeway motorists in Clark County on March 1.

That's the day new traffic signals will be begin flashing red, then green lights to vehicles at six freeway entrance ramps along U.S. 95, controlling the flow of traffic onto the freeway. The traffic lights are intended cut down on accidents and traffic congestion. Some will also reward people who car pool.

They've worked well and proven to be cost-effective in other cities around the United States, said Frederick Droes, the state Transportation Department's chief of safety and traffic engineering.

The traffic lights are located about one-third of the way up the ramp. Sensors on poles along the freeways will determine the traffic load, and the lights on the ramps will work in conjuncton with the signals to allow vehicles to enter the freeway when there is space in the traffic.

At two of the freeway entrances, one lane on these ramps will be restricted to drivers who have one or more passengers in their vehicles. They will be able to bypass the traffic light and enter the freeway without stopping.

The signals will operate only during peak periods, but when they are operating the Nevada Highway Patrol will be enlisted to ticket people who do not stop at the red lights or drive single-occupant vehicles in the car pool lane.

The signals were initially supposed to be turned on in February, but Droes told the state Transportation Board on Thursday that the department was still tweaking the system.

Gov. Kenny Guinn, chairman of the state Transportation Board, said "This will help tremendously." But he also said he hoped it didn't provoke more road rage incidents.

Transportation experts say that in most cases these types of lights reduce road rage because they result in fewer clashes between drivers already on a freeway and those getting onto a freeway.

The traffic signals will initially be installed on U.S. 95 at the southbound entrance ramps at Cheyenne Avenue and at Lake Mead Boulevard. They will also be located on the freeway's northbound entrance ramp at Las Vegas Boulevard; at Eastern Avenue on both the northbound and southbound entrance ramps and at the Fourth Street/Casino Center Boulevard northbound entrance.

The entrance ramps at Lake Mead Boulevard and Cheyenne Avenue will have the high occupancy lanes -- those vehicles carrying one or more passengers will be able to bypass the light system and enter the freeway when it is clear.

After seeing how these ramp lights and vehicle occupancy plans work, more are to be installed at other freeway entrances in Las Vegas, Droes said.

In other business before the board, Jeff Fontaine, director of the Transportation Department, said 2004 was "a bad year for traffic safety" in Nevada.

There were 397 traffic deaths on roads across the state or 29 more than in 2003. He said bike fatalities rose from 10 in 2003 to 14 last year. And motorcycle deaths jumped from 25 in 2003 to 49 in 2004.

Fontaine told the board he expected to see a number of bills dealing with traffic safety in the upcoming Legislature.

Fontaine also told the board that the department is going ahead with a $50 million project to reconstruct the interchange at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Rancho Drive. He said this project is not included in the court prohibition on the widening of U.S. 95 because it does not add any lanes.

The board also approved the start of condemnation of 35 parcels to allow widening of State Route 160, the Blue Diamond Highway. It also calls for the reconstruction of the Interchange on Interstate 15. The cost of this project is estimated at $30 million, said Kent Cooper, assistant director of planning in the department.