Boulder City closing main road into town

Cassie Tomlin

Chuck Pounds, of Boulder City, walks his dogs Buster and Bailey in the snow today.

Published Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008 | 6:25 p.m.

Updated Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008 | 6:33 p.m.

DEC. 17, 2008 SNOWFALL IN LAS VEGAS

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Boulder City at 5 p.m. was closing U.S. 93, the main route into town, at Veterans Memorial Drive, Police Chief Thomas Finn said. Residents would not be allowed to head toward Henderson, and those coming into town would be directed on back roads via Veterans Memorial Drive.

The decision to close the main highway was made, Finn said, because the roadway was treacherous across Railroad Pass.

About 2 p.m., Boulder City activated its emergency operations center in the basement of the police station.

The good news, Finn said, was that drivers were being careful.

“Speeds are down. We’re still not getting a lot of crashes,” he said. “I hope people stay home.”

The Regional Transportation Commission has closed a portion of its 402 Route from Nevada State College to Boulder City, and officials cautioned that other bus routes that serve higher elevations may be detoured or delayed as well.

"It can't make it to Boulder City because of the road closures," spokesman Tracy Bower said.

Henderson closed all offices and city-sponsored events at 3 p.m., city spokeswoman Cindy Herman said, out of concern for employees who had to commute to Summerlin, Boulder City and other locations outside Henderson.

The city does not own snow plows, she said, so the city was asking paving companies to use scrapers to clear roadway.

The schedules of public works and public safety crews had already been adjusted to ensure enough were on duty, she said.

“The whole goal and focus to make streets as safe as possible to allow public safety responders to respond as necessary,” she said.

City officials would monitor conditions through the night and could decide to close city offices tomorrow as well, Herman said.

“This is not something many people equipped to handle or are familiar with,” she said. “The best we can do is take extra precautions to keep roads safe as well as employees safe.”

Home News reporters Becky Bosshart, Cassie Tomlin and Dave Clark contributed to this story.