RTC offering special buses for Las Vegas Bowl

By Kyle B. Hansen

Friday, Dec. 18, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

Special bus line to offer access to Las Vegas Bowl

College football fans who want to avoid the congestion and parking hassles of driving to Sam Boyd Stadium on Tuesday for the Las Vegas Bowl can take advantage of a special bus service for the event.

The Regional Transportation Commission will be utilizing the 601 bus route, which only runs when there are special events at the stadium.

The bus will travel a continuous route from Tropicana Avenue and Boulder Highway to Broadbent Boulevard to the stadium, then will take Russell Road and Boulder Highway back to Tropicana.

The buses will run from 12:30 p.m. to midnight for the 5 p.m. game on Tuesday.

Bus stops are located about every quarter mile along the route.

To get to other parts of the valley, riders can take Route 107, which runs up and down Boulder Highway, or Route 201, which goes east and west on Tropicana.

The route will have the same fares as other RTC buses, $1.75 for a one-way trip or $4 for a 24-hour pass.

New U.S. 95 ramp meters activated

The Regional Transportation Commission activated 18 new freeway ramp meters on U.S. 95 in Las Vegas on Thursday.

The on-ramp meters were installed by the Nevada Department of Transportation and double the number of metered ramps in the valley.

They are located at:

• Craig Road, southbound

• Cheyenne Avenue, northbound and southbound

• Lake Mead Boulevard, northbound and two southbound

• Rainbow Boulevard, northbound and southbound

• Jones Boulevard, northbound and southbound

• Decatur Boulevard, northbound and southbound

• Valley View Boulevard, northbound and southbound

• Rancho Drive, to U.S. 95 northbound

• Rancho Drive, to U.S. 95 southbound and Interstate 15 southbound

• Martin Luther King Boulevard, northbound

The meters keep freeway traffic running smoothly by controlling the intervals between cars merging onto the highway.

The ramp meters are typically turned on weekdays from 6 to 9 a.m. and from 3 to 6 p.m. but can be activated at any time there is heavy traffic.

Horse Drive project closes U.S. 95 frontage road

Sky Pointe Drive, the frontage road on the east side of U.S. 95 in northwest Las Vegas, will be closed for two weeks beginning Monday.

The road will be closed from Kyle Canyon Road to Horse Drive while crews work on the road as part of the $44 million Horse Drive Interchange project.

The 18-month project, which began in June, includes construction of an overpass and interchange, frontage roads, retaining walls and a bridge.

Oso Blanca Road, the frontage road on the other side of U.S. 95 is also closed from Tee Pee Lane to Kyle Canyon Road, and the project will cause traffic disruptions on Iron Mountain Road, Brent Lane, Fort Apache Road, Horse Drive, Tee Pee Lane and occasionally on U.S. 95.

Sky Pointe is expected to reopen Jan. 4. The entire projected is scheduled to end late in 2010.

Oakey Boulevard and Rancho Drive intersection closes

The intersection of Oakey Boulevard and Rancho Drive in Las Vegas will be closed from 8 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday.

Crews will be working 24 hours a day through the weekend to remove and replace the pavement in the intersection as part of a $6.2 million flood control project on Oakey Boulevard.

During the closure, traffic on Oakey will be detoured at Western Avenue and Valley View. Traffic on Rancho will be diverted at Sahara Avenue and Charleston Boulevard.

The flood control project began in February and is scheduled to end next month.