Ticket to Ride
NDOT Launches Roads Program
By Tony Illia

Nevada's population boom coupled with its popularity as a tourist destination is driving the demand for new and expanded roadways. The state grew by 4.1 percent to 2.296 million residents last year, and it's expected to add another 798,193 people by 2022, said Jeff Hardcastle, the state demographer .

In addition, there were nearly 40 million visitors to Nevada in 2003. As a result, the number of vehicle miles traveled in the state has increased by 73 percent during the last decade, according to The Road Information Program, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit research group. The Nevada Department of Transportation, which maintains 5,485 mi. of highway and 1,004 bridges, has its hands full.

But last year, Gov. Kenny Guinn, who also serves as chairman of the state Transportation Board, unveiled an ambitious $1.3 billion, two-year roads and highways building program.

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"These projects will not only provide badly needed congestion relief on some of the state's busiest highways," Guinn said, "but will also help stimulate Nevada's economy by providing more than 10,000 new jobs during this critical period."

The new undertakings are being financed by 10-year bonds backed by monies pledged against future federal transportation funds. And while the reauthorization of the Transportation Equities Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) drags on in Congress, Nevada has kick-started its super projects program designed to relieve congestion.

"The most recent bond sale was for $197 million at 2.7 percent interest, which is the lowest bonding rating that the state has ever received," said Jeff Fontaine, NDOT's director. "With a 4 percent annual inflation in construction costs, we are avoiding those added costs by starting these projects now."

NDOT currently has $530 million worth of construction projects now underway with another $330 million planned to advertise by year's end. For every $1 billion invested in transportation, it produces 47,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to United States Department of Transportation.

"By not waiting to build these critical projects, we are receiving the economic benefits much earlier," Fontaine said. "We will realize about $500 million in user benefits just by reducing travel time and congestion."

In Southern Nevada, NDOT's District 1, some of those jobs include Granite Construction Cos.' $7.4 million Union Pacific Railroad bridge replacement at Interstate-15, between Interstate-215 and Russell Road in Las Vegas; Las Vegas Paving's new $17.39 million Lamb Blvd./I-15 interchange in North Las Vegas; Washington Group International's $82.2 million I-515/215 interchange in Henderson; Frehner Construction Company's $42 million I-15/Rainbow Blvd. interchange in Las Vegas; Road and Highway Builders' new $23.6 million U.S. 95 from the 18 miles north of Searchlight to U.S. 93 near Railroad Pass; Also, Frehner Construction Cos.' $20.1 million four-lane widening of St. Rose Parkway from Southern Highlands Parkway to the I-215 interchange in Henderson.

"We are doing a lot work on the U.S. 95 widening, which is one of the busiest corridors in the state," said Rudy Malfabon, NDOT's deputy director. "It's a key for east-west travel, and necessary for keeping a better flow of traffic through the Las Vegas Valley."

Upcoming projects include the $36 million I-15 widening from two to three lanes from north of the Primm interchange to the Sloan interchange; the $25.3 million I-15/Charleston Blvd. Interchange; the $25.3 million I-515/Galleria Drive interchange in Henderson; the $45 million I-15 10-lane widening from Sahara Avenue to the I-515/US-95 Interchange in Las Vegas; a $38 million, six-lane Martin Luther King/Industrial Road connector from Palomino Lane to Wyoming Avenue in Las Vegas; a new $31 million, eight-lane Blue Diamond Highway from Valley View Boulevard to Rainbow Boulevard; and a $170 million four-lane U.S. 95 widening from Martin Luther King to Rainbow boulevards in Las Vegas.

In Northern Nevada, NDOT's District 2, Frehner Construction Company is building the $53 million U.S. 395/I-80 Reno Spaghetti Bowl; Edward Kraemer & Sons is building the $79 million I-580 extension from Mount Rose Highway to Washoe Valley; and Ames Construction is building the $69 million Carson Freeway from North Carson Street to U.S. 50 east.

Future jobs include the $8 million widening of I-80 from Robb Drive to Keystone Avenue in Reno; the $9 million resurfacing of I-80 from the Storey/Lyon County line to the Mustang interchange; the $3.4 million resurfacing of the Mount Rose Highway from west of Timberline Drive to Wedge Parkway; the $4.4 million Tahoe Boulevard erosion control upgrade, from Lakeshore Boulevard to the Mount Rose Highway; and the $3.8 million U.S. 395 resurfacing from Hot Springs Road to Bowers Mansion Road.

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