Public meeting set for Boulder City bypass project

By Kyle B. Hansen

Monday, Oct. 25, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

The controversial Boulder City Bypass project will have another public airing Tuesday.

The Nevada Department of Transportation is holding a public meeting on the first phase of the project to build a freeway for U.S. 93 around Boulder City.

The meeting will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Mannion Middle School, 155 Paradise Hills Drive, in Henderson. Most of the meeting will be open-house style, but a brief presentation will be given at 5:30 p.m.

The project would connect the new Hoover Dam bypass to the existing U.S. 95/Interstate 515 freeway, which ends near Railroad Pass at the Henderson/Boulder City line.

Local political leaders have expressed support for the project, which would become part of the proposed Interstate 11 to connect Las Vegas and Phoenix.

The most recent support for the project came from Sen. Harry Reid at the Hoover Dam bypass bridge dedication Oct. 14.

“As long as I’m Nevada’s senior senator, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure the Boulder City bypass is finished,” he said.

Some residents of Boulder City, however, have expressed concern about the project because it could reduce the number of visitors to the town. Traffic to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead would no longer have to pass through the center of the city.

Residents of the Henderson neighborhood closest to Railroad Pass also have raised concerns about the project, which they claim would bring more traffic through their streets.

The first phase of the project will be the one closest to those residents. That phase includes improvements to U.S. 95 from Foothills Drive in Henderson to the Railroad Pass interchange.

Public comments on the project can be submitted at the meeting, by e-mail to [email protected], or by mail to Steve M. Cooke, Nevada Department of Transportation, 1263 S. Stewart St., Carson City, NV, 89712. Comments should be submitted by Nov. 12.