West Las Vegas residents see design for F Street reopening

By Paul Takahashi

Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010 | 9:04 a.m.

After three sometimes-contentious community meetings, a design draft for the reopening of F Street was unveiled Monday night to dozens of West Las Vegas residents.

Neighbors packed the meeting room at the Doolittle Community Center a few blocks away from F Street, which has been closed since September 2008 as part of the Interstate 15 expansion project north of the Spaghetti Bowl.

Monday’s meeting was one of the last in a series of workshops that sought input from West Las Vegans about the overall design of the reconnection project, which is expected to cost between $13 million and $19 million, less than the $20 million allocated for the project.

Representatives from the city of Las Vegas, the Legislature, the Nevada Department of Transportation and engineering firm PBS&J presented three variations of the roadwork design, which differed slightly in aesthetic details.

Because of the I-15 master plan, certain aspects, such as the dominant color scheme, of the I-15 overpass at F Street are be standardized. However, smaller details such as the accent colors, patterns, textures and even larger features such as iconic towers are permissible in the design, officials said.

The overpass will be adorned with a “Historic Westside” sign in the style of the demolished Moulin Rouge hotel-casino, the first fully integrated hotel-casino in Las Vegas. Lining the walls of the underpass will be a row of colorful interpretative panels depicting the history of the West Las Vegas neighborhood by decade.

Officials said they plan to return early next year for additional community meetings to discuss the content of the panels.

“I’m going to bring my kids here and take them through the history of Las Vegas,” State Sen. Steven Horsford said of the historical panels. “The reopening of F Street is just the beginning of the renaissance of the Historic Westside.”

The final design of the reconnection project and the historic panels is expected to be complete by late 2011. Officials plan on beginning construction in mid-2012, with the completion date set in late 2013.

“The designs are an expression of the community,” said F Street Coalition spokeswoman Trish Geran. “They definitely speak volumes to the needs of the community.”

A few residents raised concerns about the longtime neglect of the West Las Vegas neighborhood, which they felt wasn’t addressed in the construction process. One neighbor demanded an official apology for the F Street closure, and got one.

“I apologize to you on behalf of the city,” said Las Vegas City Councilman Ricki Barlow, who represents Ward 5 where F Street is located. “(But) we have a sensitivity to this community. This is the soil we played on. This is where we were born and raised. This is our home. We are trying to do the best that we can.”

For Aaron Givens, an unemployed 35-year-old veteran and former casino dealer, the new designs were like an early Christmas gift, he said.

“It’s an eye-opener to see what’s coming for the area,” said Givens, who grew up and lives in a house just across the street from where F Street is closed. “You used to feel the emptiness in the neighborhood … If I can come out of my house and see that, I would feel so much better as an American.”