Editorial: Storied underpass getting help soon

New residents of Las Vegas are awestruck -- and occasionally terrified -- when it rains here. Rain that might cause puddles in their former hometowns instead creates flooding in the Las Vegas Valley. The geography of our desert valley, coupled with the effects of growth, can result in flooding from even a modest rainfall. One of the hardest hit areas in Las Vegas is the Charleston Boulevard underpass, which often is completely submerged during a strong rain.

Last week the Clark County Regional Flood Control District voted to fast-track the Charleston Underpass Bond Project and seven others in the valley. The Charleston project is expected to be completed by October 2000, four years sooner than originally anticipated. This will add $14 million to the $36 million that has already been spent to upgrade the Charleston underpass.

Don't be surprised, however, if longtime Las Vegans don't get too excited about the project. Just like death and taxes, these Las Vegans don't think there is anything that could forestall the inevitable flooding of the Charleston underpass.

But if engineers are able to stop the flooding of the Charleston underpass, locals here certainly will believe it should be added to the list of man-made wonders. Why, it might even deserve a place right next to another engineering marvel, the Hoover Dam.

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