Six questions for Susan Martinovich, NDOT director

Sam Morris

Transportation Department Director Susan Martinovich says a train is needed between Las Vegas and Southern California.

By Brian Eckhouse

Monday, April 20, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Everyone wants more roads and less congestion. So Susan Martinovich, director of the state Transportation Department and a civil engineer, faces competing political interests when allocating federal stimulus money under her control. (Clark County ultimately got half of the $140 million.) She proposed handing over lanes along Interstate 15 and U.S. 95 to a private company that would manage them as toll lanes. The Assembly bill to accomplish that died in committee.

How does your department decide which road projects move forward?

Projects advance based on need, money and the status of environmental studies, not our preference.

Is there a difference in how federal and state money is allocated?

Federal money is compartmentalized for bridges and interstates. State money often is used for road-preservation projects, which are common in rural areas. And some projects may get accelerated if others with greater priority aren’t ready to go. We have a limited window to spend federal money.

The $201 million stimulus package that Nevada got for transportation was less than the cost of some projects.

True, and if other states don’t spend their share, I want it — and I want to be able to spend it. We have projects on the shelf that are ready to go.

There is a perception here that your department favors Northern Nevada.

That perception exists, but it’s incorrect. We’ve got major projects in Southern Nevada. And I hear the same complaint from Northern Nevada about Southern Nevada. I go to small counties and I hear: “We don’t care what’s going on in Las Vegas.” It’s all perception.

How significant is a high-speed rail alternative to Interstate 15 linking Las Vegas and Southern California?

That train is critical because I-15 is the main goods route from the Southern California ports to Salt Lake City and on to the rest of the country. That goods route isn’t going away and we can’t widen the freeway enough to get everything through. Whether it’s a magnetic levitation train or something else, we’d like to see a train between Las Vegas and Southern California.

Has the White House signaled a new direction on toll lanes?

The Bush Administration viewed toll lanes as a cure-all. President Barack Obama views them as a tool. I view them as a tool.