Tortoise sculpture: Landscape or waste?

Stephen Curran

Wednesday, June 29, 2005 | 10:48 a.m.

With thousands of newcomers flocking to the Las Vegas Valley each year, the state Transportation Department thought a native might be the best symbol to welcome drivers to the city.

But, standing on four legs and weighing more than 10,000 pounds each, the massive desert tortoise sculptures expected to appear in a median at the Spaghetti Bowl early this morning aren't the kind of Southern Nevadan who helped build the sprawling valley of 1.7 million people and growing.

In fact, the endangered real life version would probably prefer that most of those drivers just stayed home.

The state paid an Arizona artist nearly $35,000 each for the sculptures. They are part of the Transportation Department's aesthetics master plan to clean up a string of unsightly interchanges throughout Clark County, department spokesman Bob McKenzie said.

"What we're trying to do is depict Nevada in a pleasant way," he said.

They're among several elements planners have chosen to illustrate elements of "Native Nevada" at previously barren spots near the Spaghetti Bowl, I-15 and Craig Road, I-15 and Blue Diamond Road and the unfinished Henderson Spaghetti Bowl, he said.

At a cost of more than $3.5 million, the plan adds native plants and artwork to the medians. The guidelines were set up in early 2000 to develop plans for sprucing up the interchanges and help reduce dust kicked up in the otherwise barren areas. All told, the aesthetic elements account for roughly 3 percent of the total cost to improve the Spaghetti Bowl, McKenzie said.

Not everyone applauds the effort, however. Las Vegas Realtor Andy Maline would rather see that money go toward improving Southern Nevada's roads. A frequent critic of local transportation, Maline, who also sits on the Regional Transportation Commission's citizens advisory board, said the nice-looking artwork is a distraction from crippling traffic snarls valleywide.

Maline was behind a failed Legislative effort to require government agencies and contractors to coordinate construction projects to reduce backups and said the agency is short on "common sense" ideas for keeping cars moving.

"If they paid as much attention to the roadway as to landscaping, I'd be happy," Maline said. "Don't talk to me about landscaping. Talk to me about common sense."

Still, the Transportation Department insists the artwork is not meant as a distraction but as a subtle improvement they say will complement the tourist traps the dot Las Vegas.

"It's just to illustrate Nevada," McKenzie said. "The idea isn't to make it a tourist stop where people will take pictures."