LOOKING IN ON: CARSON CITY

Monday, Dec. 10, 2007 | 7:07 a.m.

CARSON CITY - Interstate 15 in Las Vegas and the bypass near Boulder City could be two of the top projects if the state ever joins with private industry in adopting a toll-road system to relieve traffic congestion.

And a hypothetical 15-mile, pay-as-you-go four-lane highway might cost a motorist 70 cents a mile to finance a $250 million construction project.

A governor's committee has decided that a public-private partnership on road construction and maintenance is a possible option to meet a $4 billion shortfall in highway building in Nevada.

The recommendation now goes to the state Transportation Board, headed by Gov. Jim Gibbons.

The Legislature in the past has rejected a toll road plan.

Kate Nees and Kim Dailey of the consulting firm of Carter Burgess outlined to the Public-Private Partnership Advisory Panel meeting in Las Vegas the steps the state might follow in joining with a private company to design, build and maintain road expansions or new highways.

The state would lease the land to the company for 30 to 50 years, with the firm paying the government either a lump sum or an annual amount.

Nees and Dailey said the state could set a minimum lease payment, with a contract clause specifying that if the traffic volume is higher, the state's payment would increase.

The concept calls for "managed lanes" restricted to those who pay the toll, perhaps via an electronic monitoring system whereby motorists would be billed monthly based on the miles traveled.

Assemblyman Kelvin Atkinson, D-North Las Vegas, chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee, abstained from voting, saying, "I don't want it viewed that this panel agreed to toll roads."

The lone dissenting vote on the advisory committee was cast by Robin Reedy, representing state Treasurer Kate Marshall. She said Marshall wants to see more financial data on a public-private partnership on road building before deciding whether to pursue the idea.

Other committee members said, however, that the alternative to expanding Nevada's highway system is either higher taxes or user fees on roads.

A natural gas scare forced the evacuation of government buildings early Friday, forcing hundreds of state workers to stand in the cold and snow.

But a protest by students from the Western Nevada Community College against Gibbons' potential 8 percent budget cuts continued unabated in front of the state Capitol.

The Capitol, the Legislative Building and the Nevada Supreme Court were cleared while state maintenance and Southwest Gas workers tried to trace the source of the gas leak. Most state employees returned to their work stations within 30 minutes. Gibbons was not in his office at the time of the evacuation.

Sgt. Randy Smith of the Capitol Police said the problem was caused when a loose valve on a truck spilled natural gas on Carson City's main street.

Meanwhile, six students from the community college in Carson City appeared outside the Capitol before 8 a.m. carrying signs protesting the possible budget cuts.

Hope Manzano, student body president of Western Nevada Community College, said the system was willing to absorb some reductions but argued that the full 8 percent should not fall on the universities and community colleges.

Gibbons has exempted public schools, the Corrections and Public Safety Department and some children's programs from the budget cuts.

Every program should share the fiscal burden, said Manzano, a nutritionist and physical therapy major. "If the governor is exempting public schools, why not the universities?" she asked.

The budget cuts, she noted, might eliminate some community college courses in rural counties.