McCarran’s nerve center will get an upgrade

By Brian Eckhouse

Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Visitors to McCarran International Airport might assume that the heart of the operations is found atop the air traffic control tower. And make no mistake, it’s from that perch that controllers direct the air and ground traffic that make McCarran one of the busiest airports in the country.

But a different kind of control center is in the main terminal building, where workers at computer stations monitor such largely automated activities as the tram operations, telephone service, fire protection and electronic security systems.

The control center, with seven workstations, has gotten crowded as the airport has grown, and Clark County commissioners have approved spending $8.8 million to build a larger one in the D concourse.

The contract went to Martin-Harris Construction, and the job may be done by year’s end.

The new control center will have space for 10 workstations, as well as room for two supervisors and two employees who manage the trams from the main terminal to the C and D concourses. McCarran officials expect the control center’s staffing to increase, but for now there’s a hiring freeze.

Much of the equipment used at the existing control center will be relocated to the new one. Airport officials once thought the space could be used as an airline VIP lounge.

The new control center has been on airport officials’ wish list since at least 2005.

Speaking of trams, a new north tram to the D concourse has been installed and began operation Saturday. The old south tram will be replaced next month — after NASCAR weekend.

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While Clark County officials are waiting to learn how much of $140 million in federal stimulus dollars heading to Nevada for highway and bridge projects will end up here, they’ve started prioritizing how to spend $40 million they know they’ll receive.

Most of that money will be spent on repaving because most large projects cost significantly more than $40 million, said Tracy Bower, spokeswoman for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. Overhauling the airport connector off Interstate 215, for instance, is estimated to cost $200 million.

Resurfacing projects to be considered include: $4.25 million for Lake Mead Boulevard between Rancho and Tonopah drives; $4.2 million for Eastern Avenue between Interstate 215 and Chandler Avenue; $4.2 million for Stewart Avenue between Las Vegas Boulevard and Main Street; and $2.83 million for Lamb Boulevard between Desert Inn Road and Charleston Boulevard.

The RTC also will get about $30 million for transit projects — money appropriated from a different section of the stimulus bill.

Three projects are expected to be favored: a new transit hub for buses and bicycles at Bonneville Avenue and Casino Center Boulevard in downtown Las Vegas; the ACE Boulder Highway project, which is a bus line connecting downtown Las Vegas to downtown Henderson that will have its own lane, and park-and-ride facilities in the northwest part of the valley.

The ACE Boulder Highway project is slated at $26 million.

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Gas prices may be half of the summer peak, but RTC officials think interest in their alternative commuting program has held steady as prices plummeted and then leveled off. They attribute this dynamic, in part, to the sour economy.

The employer-based program sponsored by the RTC, called Club Ride, encourages drivers to consider carpooling, transit and biking. And last month, five new employers signed on to Club Ride.

“We think high gas prices made people consider it and try it,” Bower said. “We think if they tried it, they liked it.”

They probably also liked some of the perks. For example, participants who have to work late unexpectedly or have an emergency get up to five free guaranteed rides home annually.