Interchange at Lake Mead Blvd., Las Vegas Beltway to open early

By Jeff Pope

Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008 | 12:44 p.m.

Much to the delight of many Sun City Summerlin residents, county commissioners decided Tuesday that the Lake Mead Boulevard Interchange on the Las Vegas Beltway will open before 2010.

Motorists can begin using the interchange in six to eight weeks. That’s how long it’s expected to take to connect the traffic signals and for the city to repave the barriered stretch of Lake Mead between the Beltway and Thomas Ryan Boulevard.

County commissioners heard a few arguments for and against opening the interchange at their Tuesday meeting. The item was not subject to a vote but they directed the Public Works Department to make it a priority.

Commissioner Chip Maxfield, whose district includes Sun City, said the original plan to leave the interchange closed until the Summerlin Parkway and Far Hills Avenue interchanges are complete in 2010 would create traffic jams. A soon as the lights and paving are complete, it should be used, he said.

“We are in favor of constructing improvements in this valley that help mitigate the congestion and some traffic issues we have,” Maxfield said. “There is every reason to have the Lake Mead Interchange. There is every reason it open and there are only two reasons to delay its opening. I never stated that it would never be open, only to be delayed.”

Leaving the interchange closed for two years is unfair to taxpayers who ponied up $12.4 million for construction, Commissioner Susan Brager said.

“It is going to happen but I think the sooner the better,” she said. “I think the safety concerns and the Sun City residents that I’ve heard from that would be able to enter (Sun City) and get to shopping and other amenities ... will save time, gas and have a safer way than going on those heavily traveled streets.”

The majority of residents want the interchange open based on phone calls and e-mails all seven commissioners received in recent weeks.

The county set up a hotline to record comments about the interchange and received 175 messages. Of those, just 14 were against opening it. Each commissioner received an average of 55 e-mails with two to four against the opening.

Sun City resident Frank Beers commended the decision, saying the open road will save him 10 to 15 minutes of drive time.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said.

The contentious decision drew frowns from a few of the Sun City residents who attended the County Commission meeting.

Sun City resident Robert Hall said the extra traffic would be dangerous to the retirement community.

“This interchange is a bridge to nowhere at the present time but it will enable development and development means a lot of traffic coming down, a lot of problems,” he said. “We are a 55 and over retirement community. We have people who don’t drive anywhere except to the grocery store. They don’t have the reflexes of a 20 year old.”

Commissioners Bruce Woodbury, Chris Giunchigliani and Rory Reid voiced their agreement to open the interchange as soon as possible with Chairman Reid adding, “what we’re supposed to do is what’s in the public interest and in doing what’s in the public interest, sometimes we have to ignore some parochial interests.”

Maxfield and city Councilman Larry Brown were in on public meetings in 2006 with Sun City Summerlin residents. The result of those meetings was that the interchange should remain closed until there could be a simultaneous opening of the interchange at Summerlin Parkway and Far Hills in 2010.

The county will also build a decorative screen wall along the east side of the Beltway for the protection of four homes on both the north and south sides of the ramps. The ramps are at a higher grade than the homes, raising traffic above residents’ 6-foot walls bordering the Beltway.

Jeff Pope is a reporter for the Home News. He can be reached at 702-990-2688 or [email protected].