Sculptures aim to soothe beastly drivers

We've all experienced the jerks zipping down the freeway and, irked that you happen to be traveling at the speed limit or only a tad faster, flipping the bird as they pass on your blind side.

It's called road rage and transportation experts believe they have a solution: a few big horn sheep, some horses and perhaps a smattering of burros.

These 10-foot-tall steel sculptures -- soon to adorn rock croppings and replace bare, litter-filled land flanking Interstate 15 -- might calm aggressive drivers. Seriously.

As the Nevada Department of Transportation embarks on its $250 million overhaul of Interstate 15's southern leg, landscapers recently revealed their role in the massive project designed to improve traffic flow between Tropicana Avenue and Silverado Ranch Boulevard.

This landscaping is nothing like what we've seen in the past, which essentially has been piles of colored rocks and a few yuccas.

Cary Baird, of Stantec Consulting, helped develop the idea of placing native animals made of weathered steel along the six-mile stretch at the southern end of the city. The beasts will be wandering out of croppings or standing on outcrops along the shoulder of the interstate. The sculptures will also appear on concrete monuments at major interchanges.

Baird is sticking to native creatures, which is why he torpedoed my idea of throwing in a few pig sculptures at the Las Vegas Beltway-Interstate 15 interchange in memory of the swine who were killed when the big rig they were riding in overturned. But that's neither here nor there.

The shoulder and interchanges along the interstate will also be peppered with native plants such as yuccas, creosote brush and white bursage.

"We wanted to bring the undisturbed desert inwards, bring it into the urban jungle," Baird said of his design. "We also believe this will help with people's attitudes; it will be calming."

Studies have proven that landscaping along freeways actually reduces accidents. According to a research team from Texas A&M University, plants and other enhancements have a psychological effect on motorists and cause them to slow down.

Scenery also keeps fatigued motorists from dozing off or spacing out, which is the No. 2 cause of fatal accidents, second only to drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The improvements also have positive effects on adjacent communities, improving land values, according to various studies performed across the country.

After checking out these steel creatures, I envisioned taggers sneaking along the highway after dark to attack the defenseless little guys. Even though the good mayor proposed whacking the thumbs off the vandals, we know they're still out there eager to destroy any attempt to spruce up our community.

Baird knows this, too.

"This is weathered steel and it lasts forever," Baird said. "If taggers go out there, you just use a wire brush and flick the paint off."

Surprisingly, Baird said, in his experience taggers seem to leave newly improved areas alone. Take the overpass at Blue Diamond Road. For years tourists and residents returning home were greeted with graffiti on the crossing. Since the overpass was redesigned and spruced up in 2007, the thing hasn't been touched.

"The graffiti downgraded the quality of life and people played off that," Baird said. "People are starting to show a little more pride."

A few residents who attended the unveiling of the landscaping scheme grumbled about the cost to beautify the project. The bulk of the entire endeavor will be funded by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, using room taxes. Three percent of the total cost of the project was dedicated to landscaping.

If the project spruces up the entry way to Las Vegas, improves the commute for locals and mellows those jerks we encounter almost daily, then I say, bring on the burros.

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.