Boulder City to host forum on alternative routes to U.S. 93

By Jean Reid Norman

Monday, Oct. 12, 2009 | 1:55 a.m.

With the opening of the Hoover Dam bypass bridge 13 months away, Boulder City officials are taking another look at a back road to provide access to neighborhoods west of U.S. 93.

They hope to get a clear idea of what the residents of those neighborhoods want during a workshop Oct. 21 at City Hall. The public is invited.

The four routes for a back road would go through the desert north of Industrial Road from Yucca Street to residential streets in the Hemenway Valley.

A similar plan was considered last year but put on a back burner after vocal opposition from neighbors who feared increased traffic past their homes.

The two newest council members, Duncan McCoy and Cam Walker, who took office in June, asked the city to take another look at the issue.

“There are some people who would rather not do it, and some people who think it’s necessary,” McCoy said. “I don’t think that situation has changed.”

What has changed, he said, is the amount of time the city has to accomplish anything before the Hoover Dam bypass bridge opens in November 2010. Once the bridge opens, tractor-trailers that have been detoured through Laughlin since 2001 will be allowed to use U.S. 93 again. The Nevada Department of Transportation estimates 2,000 trucks a day will be added to U.S. 93 traffic through Boulder City.

“People who live on the west side of the highway already have trouble getting in and out,” McCoy said, noting every other area of Boulder City has two routes for access.

“If we don’t add it now, it won’t be done when it becomes a problem,” McCoy said.

Walker said he heard about the problem from constituents during the campaign, and he dreads a return to heavy truck traffic using U.S. 93. He recalled former City Attorney Bill Andrews’ death in a crash on U.S. 93 in 1999.

“I’ve seen the need, and it’s been discussed in the community in the past,” Walker said. “If we do nothing today, we’re a year or two delayed.”

Councilman Travis Chandler, the only council member who lives in the Hemenway Valley, was one of the voices asking that the city take a wait-and-see attitude last year. He said he is eager to hear what residents have to say.

“My feeling is there were some real concerns,” Chandler said, adding he doesn’t favor any alternative. “I’m looking forward to it, so I can see if there’s been a change.”

It’s hard to tell at this point how the bypass bridge and the trucks will affect Boulder City traffic, he said. On one hand, there will no longer be delays from a security checkpoint on Hoover Dam, so that will improve traffic headed south. On the other, the heavy trucks coming up the hill on U.S. 93 may create a new bottleneck at Buchanan Boulevard and Nevada Highway. That doesn’t worry the councilman personally, however.

“I’ve lived on this side of town for 23 years,” Chandler said. “They’re annoying and intimidating, but when they’re coming up the hill, they’re not going fast. ... Quite frankly, even when traffic was backed up, if I had a need to get home, I was always able to do that.”

Some other residents in Hemenway Valley are concerned about their ability to get out of their neighborhoods.

Norman Lytal, treasurer of Villa Florence, a condo community on Lake Mountain Drive, said when he did a survey of neighbors in several neighborhoods along Lake Mountain last year, he heard strong support for some alternative. A year’s delay has not helped, he said.

“Now people are getting really worried,” he said. “Once this thing opens up, we won’t be able to get out.”

Ed Waymire, president of the Lake Mountain Estates community north of Marina Drive, said he will strongly encourage his neighbors to attend the forum. Only a few residents in the senior community oppose the access road, he said, even though three of the four proposed routes would direct traffic down Marina, next to the community.

“I’m telling people you have to face reality,” he said. “It’s absolutely necessary, regardless of how we feel about it.”

Judy Hoskins, president of the Bella Vista Property Owners Association, said the group’s board of directors is not taking a stand on the issue, because there was no consensus among the residents. All four routes would affect Bella Vista, and three of them would require a small portion of community property next to Valencia Drive.

“There are some people who feel it’s not necessary, and a lot of people feel it is necessary. I don’t know what the percentage would be,” she said.

The community would have to oppose the alternatives that require Bella Vista property, she said. For the community to sell the parcel to the city, it would need a 100 percent vote of residents in favor, “and you’re not going to get everybody to agree on anything,” she said.

If the city tries to take the property through eminent domain, she said, she feels the board would have a responsibility to residents to fight the proceeding.

Mayor Roger Tobler said he is eager to hear what comes out of the workshop.

“Nobody wants it in their backyard, and I can understand that,” he said.

He also has been talking to NDOT about possible funding sources and said money may be available.

“It’s not 100 percent secured, but it’s not a pipe dream either,” he said. “It’s probably very doable.”

The key, he said, is to come up with a plan that fills the need for access while addressing the neighbors’ objections.

“This really is in the best interest of all of those who live down there,” he said. “I understand their concerns, and we’ll have to do our best to mitigate those concerns.”