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Trucks pass on U.S. 93 near the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge outside Boulder City on Friday, Feb. 25, 2011.
By Kyle B. Hansen (contact) 
Thursday, April 7, 2011 | 9:10 p.m.
Sun archives
- NDOT to discuss fixes for Boulder City road problems at April 7 meeting (3-31-2011)
- Boulder City tries to pass the truck back to Arizona (3-2-2011)
- NDOT accelerates plan to widen U.S. 93 near Hoover Dam bypass bridge (2-12-2011)
- Boulder City gets backing over bridge traffic complaints (12-29-2010)
- Hoover Dam bypass bridge opens to traffic (10-20-2010)
- Bridging America event draws thousands (10-16-2010)
- Hoover Dam bypass bridge gets warm welcome at dedication (10-14-2010)
Sun coverage
Traffic woes in Boulder City caused by the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge could be eased later this year, but not everyone is happy about a proposal to widen U.S. 93.
The Nevada Department of Transportation held a public meeting in Boulder City on Thursday afternoon to present its plans to widen the highway between Buchanan Boulevard and the bypass.
The department fast-tracked the project after city leaders reported how bad traffic had become once the bypass opened and trucks started rolling back through town. Trucks had been barred from crossing the dam.
Residents, however, complained that the widening project is too little, too late.
“It’s a stop gap at best,” said former City Council member Andrea Anderson.
Anderson, who was on the council when the project started, said transportation officials reported then that there wouldn’t be traffic problems when the bridge opened. “All of the sudden, here comes the traffic,” she said.
“And we are held hostage,” added Beverly Parry, who lives off U.S. 93 near Nevada Way. “Why didn’t anyone do anything for us? We live here, and living here means more should be done for us than for the truckers going up the hill.”
The Transportation Department plans to widen the highway, eliminating the current bottleneck that creates traffic backups that sometimes have reached all the way to Henderson.
When the project is finished, U.S. 93 will be two lanes all the way through Boulder City to the dam bypass. It also will have new turn lanes, giving better access to side roads, wider shoulders and medians, and new signs and lighting.
Construction is expected to start this summer and be completed in the fall, although no exact dates have been announced.
To speed things along, the state will pay for the $12 million to $15 million in improvements using only state gas tax revenue, instead of seeking federal funds as is usual, said Rudy Malfabon, the department’s deputy director.
That accelerates the timeline and keeps the project from interfering with the planed Boulder City Bypass — a freeway that would allow traffic to go around Boulder City to get from Arizona to Henderson.
Boulder City residents reiterated their support for the full bypass around the city, saying it was the only way to solve the traffic problems.
“The Boulder City Bypass is moving forward,” Project Manager Tony Lorenzi said, but funding for the second phase of the project, estimated at $300 million, has yet to be identified.
“NDOT wants to see that get funded as much as anybody does,” Lorenzi said.
In the meantime, he said, the current project will solve many of the problems with congestion in the town.
Other residents were concerned about specific details of the project, such as how the turn lanes are configured for some of the side streets.
Kent Sears, the district traffic engineer for the department, said that because funding and space is limited, there is no way to build flyovers and overpasses. “What we are providing here is just about the best we can get,” he said.
Residents also asked about the speed limit on the road once it is widened.
Sears said the department would do a survey and study the traffic before a final speed limit is set.
City Councilman Duncan McCoy asked about Mayor Roger Tobler’s request that trucks be banned from the route until construction is over.
The Arizona Department of Transportation is opposed to the request, because it would return truck problems to Bullhead City on the alternate route. Arizona officials attended Thursday’s meeting in Boulder City but didn’t speak.
Malfabon said after the meeting that NDOT Director Susan Martinovich is meeting with her Arizona counterpart next week to discuss the proposal.
Poor BC. Oh my gosh. How horrible for them. That they have to suffer any inconvienence heaven forfend.
I like going to BC and it's nice there but anytime they have to "suffer" they make it seem like the world is ending. I'm sure there are some businesses that don't mind a little more traffic. You live right next to a major route for goods, what do you expect?
Every time an article runs in the Sun about the traffic bottleneck on State Highway 93 through Boulder City, people without a clue start posting comments about (insert sarcasm)"poor little Boulder City" whining about the traffic.
Hwy. 93 is the major artery between Las Vegas and Arizona. The bypass bridge was built to take traffic off of Hoover Dam and alleviate the traffic bottleneck there. It has been a disaster. On weekends, traffic is at a virtual standstill from the bridge all the way back into Henderson and as warm weather approaches it will only get worse. This is not just a Boulder City problem, it is a problem for Nevada, Arizona and anyone trying to travel east to west through that corridor.
Hwy 93 is a part of the CANAMEX Trade Corridor that stretches from the Mexican border at Nogales, Arizona to the Canadian border at Sweetgrass, Montana. It appears to take a break between the Hacienda Hotel & Casino the start again at Railroad Pass. Why?
In the near future, a major deep water port will begin operation in Punta Colonet, Mexico. When it opens it will be the third largest port in the world. The CANAMEX corridor will be one of its main arteries. Truck traffic will increase exponentially.
Boulder City saw what was coming and has petitioned NDOT for over a decade to fix the problem before it happened. The pleas fell on deaf ears. Arizona understood the situation on their side of the bridge and built the infrastructure accordingly. Boulder City is at the mercy of NDOT and NDOT is not listening.
Yes, the traffic is an inconvenience and a safety nightmare for Boulder City, but it is a tourism disaster for Las Vegas, and Las Vegas tourism is the engine that drives the economy in Nevada. It will be an even bigger disaster after the port in Punta Colonet, Mexico starts operation.
Thanks to the voters, Boulder City now has a strong and powerful City Council. They ousted the outsiders in last election. This will equal something getting done, and those trucks back through Laughlin where they belong.
Why is the state using funds to appease the worthless minority that is Boulder City? Leave the roads as they are and spend the money on something worthwhile like education. No one cares about Boulder City anyway.
"When the project is finished, U.S. 93 will be two lanes all the way through Boulder City to the dam bypass. It also will have new turn lanes, giving better access to side roads, wider shoulders and medians, and new signs and lighting."
Mr. Hansen, will you clarify this statement? Where is US-93 NOT two lanes in either direction through Boulder City? The only place where it is one lane in either direction is in old downtown, where angled parking gives rise to a vibrant streetscape. Surely the highway won't be widened to take semis through the center of town, will it? And as far as I know, it's already two lanes both ways everywhere else in town.
James,
There are about 1.5 miles northbound and 5 miles southbound of U.S. 93 that is only one lane between the stoplight at Buchanan and the new exit near the Hacienda. The area you are referring to is not the main U.S. 93 route.
Ah, thanks. I will pay attention when I drive out to see the bridge this weekend.
@ Amstutz
Wow, what a bunch of BS this Amstutz character wrote. For the record, he is fear mongering. There is no Punta Colonet, Mexico being built yet. If its built, and that is a big if, it will take a decode to build. Finally it has NO bearing on Hoover Dam and is being planned for the Pacific coast south of Ensenada and freight would be taken by rail to Tijuana Mexico. Last I checked this extra freight would not have to travel across Hoover Dam to make it across the border to San Diego. Get a brain.