Monday, Aug. 8, 2011 | 2 a.m.
Beyond the Sun
Sun Coverage
Paving on Sahara Avenue will close more lanes on the busy roadway while work continues through the end of the month on a new express bus route.
The Regional Transportation Commission is making improvements to Sahara Avenue, a major east-west route across the valley, including the addition of a bus-only lane.
Crews will be paving Sahara between Las Vegas Boulevard and Boulder Highway beginning Monday, with lane closures in both directions in effect until the end of August.
The paving work will be done nightly from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., but the lane closures will be in effect 24 hours a day. At least one lane in each direction will remain open at all times, officials said, but the project is likely to create traffic backups.
In addition, work on the road continues in the western valley.
Crews will be working on the sidewalks and driveways along Sahara between Hualapai Way and Durango Drive this week, closing lanes in that area.
Transit platforms are being installed between Durango Drive and Decatur Boulevard, which will cause intermittent lane closures.
Crews also will be demolishing and replacing sidewalks and driveways, installing station platforms and doing electrical, landscaping and irrigation work between Decatur Boulevard and Rancho Drive. Motorists should expect intermittent lane closures on that stretch of Sahara as well.
Motorists who can avoid Sahara might want to consider using Charleston Boulevard or Desert Inn Road for east-west travel across the valley.
The RTC is adding a bus-only lane to the right shoulder of parts of Sahara Avenue for a new express bus line, similar to the one now operating on Las Vegas Boulevard North in North Las Vegas and another under construction on Boulder Highway.
The new lane is being built in what is now the breakdown lane on the shoulder of the road, so when the project is finished, motorists will still have the same number of lanes as before.
The entire project is scheduled to be completed in February.
The $40 million project is mostly funded by $34.4 million in federal stimulus money.
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