Reps. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) and Dina Titus (D-Nev.) speak at a news conference in Henderson Thursday, August 5, 2010. Officials heralded the completion of the Green Valley Parkway repaving project, which was paid for with federal stimulus money.
Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010 | 7:42 p.m.
Some of Henderson’s busiest roads have gotten a makeover courtesy of federal stimulus money.
Officials held a press conference Thursday morning to show off the nearly-completed work on Green Valley Parkway.
The old asphalt on 3.1 miles of Green Valley Parkway, from the railroad tracks near Warm Springs Road to Horizon Ridge Parkway, was milled down and replaced.
Federal money paid for similar improvements on American Pacific Drive, between Stephanie Street and Gibson Road, and on Stephanie Street near Sunset Road.
Stimulus money also paid for reconstruction of Volunteer Boulevard from Executive Terminal Drive to the edge of the Anthem community.
Parts of Green Valley Parkway may not have seemed in need of resurfacing, but officials said the road was built in phases as the community developed and some sections are more than 15 years old.
The section of roadway from the Las Vegas Beltway to Warm Springs was one of the highest generators of complaints to the city, and it is more cost efficient to redo the entire road at once, City Engineer Jonna Sansom said.
Plus, the $2.1 million project is expected to save the city money, and headaches, later.
“By doing a mill and overlay on Green Valley Parkway, we avoid having to do a full reconstruction later, which is much more costly,” Sansom said.
That type of reconstruction is exactly what had to be done to Volunteer Boulevard, which had major cracks and potholes because the asphalt was only 2 inches thick, Sansom said.
Officials thought Green Valley Parkway had a 5-inch layer of pavement, but once work started, they discovered it also was only 2 inches thick, making the work even more important, Sansom said.
The road now has asphalt that uses recycled rubber, including old car tires, which makes for a smoother, quieter ride. The rubber reduces noise by about 15 percent, Sansom said.
“The public now has something that they’ll be able to benefit from for decades to come,” said Jacob Snow, the general manager of the Regional Transportation Commission.
American Pacific Drive and Stephanie Street also got the rubber asphalt, and those projects were done on time and on budget, Sansom said.
Volunteer Boulevard is the only one of the projects still undergoing major work, but it should be done in October, Sansom said.
In addition to the improvements for motorists, the message from officials was the economic benefits of the projects, which were funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, the Democrat who represents Henderson and is in a close race with Republican Joe Heck, conducted the press conference.
“These are projects that are so important to the economy of Nevada,” she said. “We’re proud to brag about the fact that we’ve gotten such good dollars here in Southern Nevada.”
Nevada received about $200 million for road projects and about $50 million for transit projects from the stimulus act, Titus said. That created 1,600 jobs, she said.
“We know it’s not going to happen overnight, we know that this recovery will be long and hard, but certainly this is a good investment and a way to start moving in the right direction,” she said.
Henderson Mayor Andy Hafen also credited the stimulus funds for improvements to the economy.
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