Latest bridge over the Las Vegas Strip opens to pedestrians
The 17th pedestrian bridge stretching over a portion of Las Vegas Boulevard opened Monday morning to foot traffic.
The bridge links the Park MGM/T-Mobile Arena area to the Showcase Mall, sitting in front of the MGM Grand, on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip.
“This is an extremely busy intersection with more than 60,000 vehicles and 10,000 people crossing the street here every day, and even more when there are hockey games or other special events,” Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson said in a statement. “From now on those pedestrians will be able to walk safely and freely across Las Vegas Boulevard high above the traffic.”
The first two Las Vegas Boulevard pedestrian bridges were built at Tropicana Avenue, opening in 1995. The most recent bridge before the Park MGM bridge opened in 2012 at Harmon Avenue.
The next pedestrian bridge is slated to connect the area in front of the Bellagio to the area leading to Planet Hollywood Resort. Design work and right-of-way issues are being sorted out for that bridge, with construction likely to begin within two years, according to Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin.
Bridges linking all four corners of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue are also in the works, with the estimated $27.5 million project slated to begin in 2022. Between 2015 and 2017, two pedestrians were killed and 22 were injured in the area near the intersection, according to Department of Public Safety data.
Additional plans call for bridges to stretch across Las Vegas Boulevard between Caesars Palace and the Linq, and at Resorts World Las Vegas, but those projects don’t have timelines.
The bridges are part of a pedestrian safety focus on the busiest street in Las Vegas. In addition to bridges, 4,500 steel posts, known as bollards, are being installed along Las Vegas Boulevard to protect pedestrians from vehicles.
“Public safety has always been a top priority for the County, and this bridge is another example of our continued commitment to protecting our residents and visitors, Gibson said.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.
