Tenaya Way overpass opens at Summerlin Parkway

By Tiffany Gibson

Monday, Feb. 22, 2010 | 1:38 p.m.

A ceremonial ribbon-cutting Monday marked the completion of the Tenaya Way Overpass and Trail project, which will provide residents with easier access across Summerlin Parkway.

“This bridge ties these two communities together,” said O White, traffic engineer for the city of Las Vegas.

Las Vegas City Council members Lois Tarkanian and Starvos Anthony, Deputy City Manager James Nichols and Jacob Snow, general manager of the Regional Transportation Commission, attended the ceremony and cut the blue ribbon.

“We cut it on a cold and blistery day,” Tarkanian said, jokingly. “I got into a convertible after and drove across the bridge as sort of an inaugural drive.”

Tarkanian said she was glad to see the finished product of a project that has been in planning for many years.

The project, officially called the Tenaya Way Overpass and Bonanza Trail Improvement Project, was started in January 2009 to link Tenaya Way to Westcliff Drive over Summerlin Parkway by constructing a bridge with retaining walls and a median.

The project also includes a 1,350-foot pathway beneath the bridge called the Bonanza Trail, which connects Bill Briare Family Park to the Kellogg-Zaher Sports Complex. Sewer and storm drainage improvements were also part of the project.

White said the overpass allows pedestrians and drivers to travel over the bridge instead taking alternate routes to cross Summerlin Parkway.

Tarkanian said the overpass will allow residents on the east and west sides of Summerlin Parkway to enjoy the Bill Briare Family Park. She said the city of Las Vegas is also interested in designing a mural on the walls of the Bonanza Trail tunnel entrance underneath the bridge.

Some residents have opposed the project, concerned it might cause more traffic in the area, White said. To ensure the safety of residents, a traffic signal was installed at the West Washington Avenue and Tenaya Way intersection.

“There will be more traffic in the area, but it will smooth the flow of traffic,” Tarkanian said. “I will be watching it for safety because there are residents who are concerned. We want it to work for both sides.”

The overpass project cost $7.9 million and was funded by the city, the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada and the Bureau of Land Management.