Look for ambitious projects down the road

As promised, this week we tapped into the brains of our transportation experts throughout the Las Vegas Valley to find out what major transportation projects we might see in the next several years. Here is the Top 10, again, in no particular order of importance. As we mentioned last week, the state and its cities have far less money than they did the last decade so most of these projects depend on when, and if, money becomes available.

■ Design-build south: We all know this project has been under way for some time. The heavy equipment and ramp closures at the Interstate 15/Las Vegas Beltway interchange are a dead giveaway. But this project is extremely complex and still has a ways to go. It is scheduled to be finished early next year.

The major components are a new four-lane bridge to bring Sunset Road across the interstate and ultimately link it to Valley View Boulevard on the west side of the freeway.

This will add an important east-west corridor over I-15.

Crews are also revamping an old crossing on Warm Springs Road. Construction of a new six-lane overpass will begin as soon as the Sunset bridge is completed.

The Nevada Department of Transportation is building frontage roads on both sides of I-15 between Blue Diamond Road and Tropicana Avenue. The idea is that traffic accessing Strip properties on the east and businesses on the west will use these roads, freeing up the interstate to become more of an expressway.

This design is not only expected to ease the commute for locals who travel across town, but also the 8 million or so visitors who visit the city from Southern California.

A new towering flyover from Blue Diamond Road to the freeway is also part of the plan.

■ Project Neon: This joint effort between federal, state and local transportation agencies will add a few flying noodles around the Spaghetti Bowl. The first phase of the project will include the addition of flyovers in the redesign of the Charleston interchange, which we all know is badly needed. Anyone who has to exit I-15 on Charleston is familiar with the gauntlet of traffic lights that makes Martin Luther King Boulevard a mess and efforts to actually reach Charleston a hair-pulling experience.

The project will include new frontage roads linking the Charleston interchange to Alta Drive and south from Alta to I-15.

The idea is to improve traffic flow and add alternative routes between the older, congested road system between Sahara Avenue and the Spaghetti Bowl.

The dozens upon dozens of motorists who have been in fender-benders at I-15 and Sahara will appreciate this. The residents squeezed between the west side of I-15 and the south side of U.S. Highway 95 might not, because some homes and businesses will be affected, meaning they might be bought out for the project.

■ Transit improvements: The Regional Transportation Commission is finishing up yet another express route along Boulder Highway that will result in a quick ride from downtown Las Vegas to Henderson. The buses will use designated lanes on Boulder Highway so the trip won't be hindered by commuters.

The agency is preparing to embark on the Sahara Avenue express route between Hualapai Way on the west to Boulder Highway on the east. Solar-powered bus shelters with ticket vending machines will be built along the route. Existing shoulders will be converted to designated bus lanes so, again, the vehicles won't be slowed by traffic.

Express routes will be added to Maryland Parkway and Flamingo Road, the agency's most heavily used transit lines.

A six-bay transit center is in the works on the campus of UNLV on Maryland Parkway. The facility will serve as a transfer station for local routes as well as other express systems. The new $3.5 million building, which is expected to open in spring 2013, will include a secured bicycle storage area for students and commuters.

Additional park and rides are in the works, most notably one off Las Vegas Boulevard near St. Rose Parkway.

■ Completion of the Las Vegas Beltway: By 2016, the entire 52-mile length of Interstate 215 is expected to be upgraded to a full-fledged freeway without the traffic signals that still cause congestion. The $965 million project will include plenty of overpasses and underpasses. Also included in the project will be much-anticipated interchanges at U.S. Highway 95 and at Interstate 15 north near the Las Vegas Speedway.

■ Fifth Street: North Las Vegas celebrated the completion of the first segment of the Fifth Street project late last year, but that was only a fraction -- frankly, the most boring fraction -- of the entire project. Widening Fifth Street to six lanes between Carey and Owens avenues created a gateway to North Las Vegas. But the best is yet to come.

At a cost of $65 million, the next two phases should be completed sometime in 2013. That will include carrying Fifth Street over Losee Road and Interstate 15 and then to Cheyenne Avenue. Eventually, Fifth Street will reach the Las Vegas Beltway, completing the badly needed north-south thoroughfare linking the newer North Las Vegas neighborhoods, such as Aliante, with downtown.

■ Southeast improvements: The once-rural southeast area of the Las Vegas Valley grew swiftly during the construction boom, but the roads didn't exactly keep up with the population. For a long time, Eastern Avenue was the primary north-south arterial, and it was a mess. Years back, the widening of Silverado Ranch Boulevard and accompanying interchange at I-15 helped relieve congestion in the area. More help is on the way.

The transportation commission will widen Cactus Avenue between Rainbow Boulevard and Maryland Parkway and add an interchange at I-15 by 2014 at a cost of $114 million. Also in the agency's plans is to build an interchange at Starr Avenue at Interstate 15.

■ Airport interchange: Last year, Sen. Harry Reid took $45 million that was initially earmarked for the magnetic levitation high-speed train and turned it over to Clark County to construct a new interchange at Interstate 215 and the exit to McCarran International Airport.

■ Widening U.S. Highway 95: Crews have been working on widening the highway from Washington Avenue to Ann Road to extend the high-occupancy vehicle lanes and also improve some of the busier interchanges. The Cheyenne Avenue bridge will be widened and loop ramps added to eliminate backups at traffic signals.

Loop ramps also will be added on Durango Drive.

At the Rancho Drive/Ann Road exit, braid ramps will be added, meaning the on-ramp and off-ramp will be built on top of one another. This portion of the project is expected to be finished by the end of this year.

The good news for Summerlin residents is that a flyover high-occupancy vehicle lane will be built, carrying traffic from U.S. Highway 95 onto westbound Summerlin Parkway.

South of the Spaghetti Bowl, the highway also will be widened. Express lanes similar to those on Interstate 15 will be built on the eastbound side of the freeway. Around downtown, collector-distributor ramps such as those we see at the Valley View/Decatur Boulevard exit will be added.

■ Stephanie Street: Residents near the Galleria at Sunset mall in Henderson will be pleased to learn that the Regional Transportation Commission will soon begin a $22 million project to improve Stephanie Street from Galleria Drive to Russell Road. The project will include a bridge over U.S. Highway 95 and is expected to be finished in 2014.

■ Boulder City bypass: This was on all the transportation folks' lists of major projects we'll see completed in the near future. My first reaction is, uh, yeah, right. I'd almost -- almost -- bet that we'd see a high-speed train before we see this major roadway completed.

This highway that would dip south of Boulder City and connect with the O'Callaghan-Tillman Memorial Bridge has been talked about for years and has generated so much controversy, it has never gone anywhere.

Expect this issue to re-emerge during the upcoming legislative session under a new title, Interstate 11, the CANAMEX highway.

If you have a question, tip or tirade, call Adrienne Packer at 702-387-2904, or send an e-mail to roadwarrior@reviewjournal
.com. Please include your phone number.