Meeting planned to discuss changes to Boulder City Bypass

By Jean Reid Norman

Monday, July 6, 2009 | 3:37 p.m.

Some small changes are being made to the design of the Boulder City Bypass, and the Nevada Department of Transportation will show them to residents from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday.

The changes will add a flyover from northbound U.S. 95 to U.S. 93 at Railroad Pass, NDOT spokesman Bob McKenzie said.

Details will be available at the meeting Thursday at the Community College of Southern Nevada, 700 Wyoming St., Room 100, McKenzie said. A brief presentation will be made at 5:30 p.m., followed by a short comment period.

It is designed to make it easier for trucks coming north from Laughlin to get onto U.S. 95/93 to Henderson, McKenzie said.

Project manager Glenn Petrenko and other project engineers will be at the meeting to answer questions about the change and any other questions about the project, McKenzie said.

He said it was not clear whether the change would increase the cost of the $300 million project. That information will also be available at the Thursday meeting, he said.

The bypass is designed to route heavy truck traffic coming over the Hoover Dam bypass bridge, which is set to open late next year, around Boulder City from the Hacienda Hotel to the Railroad Pass Casino.

Because of a lack of money, the soonest the project is expected to open is 2025.

Comments on the changes will be accepted at the meeting and via e-mail and in writing through July 24. E-mail comments to info@dot.state.nv.us with Boulder City Bypass in the subject line, or mail them to Steve M. Cooke, P.E., Chief Environmental Services Division, Nevada Department of Transportation, 1263 S. Stewart St., Carson City, NV 89712.

Jean Reid Norman can be reached at 948-2073 or jean.norman@lasvegassun.com.