Declining revenue forces RTC to scale back road projects

By Jeremy Twitchell

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 | 11:35 a.m.

With tax revenues that support local road projects on the decline, the Regional Transportation Commission and its member jurisdictions are being forced to re-evaluate their construction slates.

Each year, the RTC funds dozens of construction projects in Clark County, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City and Mesquite. Its budget comes from gas and sales tax receipts in Clark County — nine cents per gallon of gas sold locally and half a percent of local sales tax revenue.

With Nevada in recession, however, those funding sources are dwindling. Gas tax revenue has fallen from $70.9 million in 2007 to a projected total of $66.7 million in the 2009 budget year, which ends June 30, RTC spokeswoman Tracy Bower said. In the same period, sales tax revenue has fallen from $178.7 million to a projected $157 million, she said.

The RTC has reduced its bonding for projects by about $270 million this year and is working on a plan to cut $385 million of bonds out of the next five years, Bower said.

As part of the plan, the RTC’s members are taking a second look at pending projects. Some are expected to be reduced in scope; others may be delayed until times are better. The RTC board is expected to vote on a plan later this summer, Bower said.

Any project that has already begun will be funded to completion, she said.

In Henderson, the project trimming has already begun. Last week, the City Council approved a $5.9 million project, funded by the RTC, to extend and widen Pueblo Boulevard, near Boulder Highway and Palo Verde Drive, to accommodate the anticipated traffic increase in the area when the city’s new Heritage Park opens later this year.

After re-evaluating the project, however, City Engineer Jonna Sansom said the project will be reduced to $1 million and will only extend Pueblo to Boulder Highway. The widening, traffic control and other improvements that were part of the original plan will all be scrapped, she said.

Overall, Sansom said, the city has cut $85 million out of its future RTC projects. “This isn’t chump change for us,” Sansom said.

Work on re-evaluating and prioritizing projects is also under way in Las Vegas.

“The city of Las Vegas will continue to work with the Regional Transportation Commission in order to provide the best transportation infrastructure to the community,” city spokesman Jace Radke said. “The city of Las Vegas prioritizes projects based on many considerations, and the current economy is something that is being taken into account in the planning process.”

Despite all the needed cuts, Bower said, there is some good news. The RTC has received more than $19 million in federal stimulus money for the Ace rapid bus transit system planned for Boulder Highway, meaning that construction on that project can begin ahead of schedule later this year, while freeing up money that had previously been committed to Ace for other construction projects.

“We still have some funding available and we’re working with (member agencies) to see what projects we can still fund,” Bower said.