Citizens raise concerns over interchange on Lake Mead

Not only has Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone been besieged by Sun City Summerlin residents strongly opposed to an interchange at Lake Mead Boulevard and the Las Vegas Beltway, but so have mayoral candidates.

But the only issues left to discuss about the interchange, according to Commission Chairman Bruce Woodbury, are the design and when the junction will be built.

That is a point of frustration for Malone, who said he and more than 400 residents of the senior citizen community were told by the county's public works officials late last year that the interchange wasn't a done deal.

"They said, 'Hey, if you don't want the interchange -- poof -- it is gone,' " Malone said.

When Malone asked to discuss the interchange during an update at last week's board meeting, he was stunned when Woodbury said the only discussion would be on money, the timeline and traffic restrictions on Lake Mead.

Woodbury said the county is obligated by contract with Howard Hughes Corp. to build the interchange. Unless the commission is willing to vote for an amendment to the contract, it will be constructed.

"I guess if Howard Hughes and the majority of the commission felt it was somehow no longer necessary ... but that doesn't seem likely to happen," Woodbury said. "It will be necessary. It's a matter of when."

Woodbury said opponents of the interchange at Lake Mead argue that the next offramp is only 2 miles away. But Woodbury said that is a standard distance between exits.

Malone and even candidates for Las Vegas mayor who have no authority over the beltway, have said they will battle for the residents.

"What I have to do now is continue to fight," Malone said. "And if I continue to lose, we have to look at a roadway system that is as least intrusive as possible."

Malone said he is disappointed that people in his district are being called NIMBYs -- standing for Not In My Backyard -- because they want to protect their neighborhood. He said Lake Mead Boulevard is already a hazardous road and to open it up to thousands more cars a day would make it more dangerous and pollute nearby residential areas.

"They're like any other neighborhood. They're reacting to a situation that would have a strong impact on them," he said. "We ask people to get involved in the process. They are doing just that and there are people condemning them."

The leg of the 53-mile Las Vegas Beltway that is expected to stretch to Cheyenne Avenue is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2000. The beltway is a $1.5 billion highway that by the end of 2003 should provide a route around three-quarters of the valley.

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