Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2004 | 10:42 a.m.
Emergency vehicles should be able to respond faster to accidents along a 70-mile section of Interstate 15 when a new fire station is built in Baker, Calif.
Plans for the new station were outlined for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's board of directors today in its monthly meeting.
Tom Skancke, the LVCVA's contracted consultant on I-15 improvement issues, told the board the new $1.7 million station authorized by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors should make the highway -- the primary route between Southern California and Las Vegas -- a safer place.
"I have nothing but good news for you today," Skancke said at this morning's convention authority presentation as he discussed the new station and other prospective I-15 improvements.
He told the authority board that a transportation summit is being planned in California next month to discuss innovations in highway design. Those include proposals for truck toll roads, limited-access freeway toll lanes, and variable direction lanes to add capacity during busy periods.
Board member Oscar Goodman, Las Vegas Mayor, said he was leery of encouraging toll roads for motorists because of the possibility they could discourage visitation from California.
Tracey Martinez, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department, said the station would house emergency vehicles presently parked in various locations around Baker, a small community about 50 miles south of the Nevada-California border that calls itself the gateway to Death Valley National Park.
Martinez said the Baker station, which has one 40-hour-a-week emergency services coordinator and staffing to have two firefighters on call around the clock, gets about 1,000 calls a year with the majority of them being traffic-related emergencies on I-15.
The LVCVA estimates that more than 38,000 cars a month come to Nevada from Southern California on I-15.
Martinez said the Baker crews cover 3,280 square miles and handle emergencies south of the state line to an area north of Barstow, Calif. The average response time, she said, ranges from seven minutes to 45 minutes.
"This will be a big help to us because our vehicles currently are parked in leased locations all around town," Martinez said. "By having them consolidated, it should improve response time as well as keep our vehicles out of the severe heat."
Martinez said construction is expected to be under way early next year. The county recently acquired property for the station from the Bureau of Land Management.
Skancke said in his report to the LVCVA board that there are other I-15 corridor improvements ahead.
He said the California Department of Transportation has approved the construction of a $43.6 million agricultural and vehicle inspection station just south of Primm to replace a facility at Yermo, Calif.
Skancke also reported that a major I-15 widening project is continuing, with most of the work remaining between Victorville and Barstow.
He said work on the 30-mile stretch, one of the last major choke points between the Los Angeles area and Las Vegas, would be completed in about a year.
The freeway is being widened to six lanes, and occasional truck acceleration and deceleration lanes, signage, striping, shoulder work and flood control work are also being done. Skancke said the California Department of Transportation is gradually opening lanes as they are completed along the route.
Skancke also reported that a major transportation funding source was extended by voters in the November election.
San Bernardino County residents approved the renewal of a half-cent sales tax dedicated to transportation projects.
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