$40M in federal funding to go toward Henderson Boulder Highway safety improvement project

One of the Las Vegas Valley’s most dangerous roads is set for a major safety overhaul.

Boulder Highway will be revamped after Sen.Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., helped secure a $40 million federal grant. The 15-mile stretch of road accounts for almost 10 percent of the total pedestrian fatalities in the state.

“This is why it’s so important that you have this collaboration at the federal, state and local level,” Cortez Masto said during a press conference Tuesday. “Infrastructure needs are key to our communities and it requires all of us working together to ensure here in Southern Nevada, as we see here in Henderson, we’re working to ensure that we’re getting the essential funds necessary for our road improvements… for the benefit of all of our community members.

The funding will go toward the first portion set for improvements, a 7 1/2-mile stretch that runs from Tulip Falls Drive to Wagon Wheel Drive in Henderson, which carries a $130 million price tag, according to Henderson Director of Public Works Ed McGuire. Between the federal funding and fuel tax revenue, the city so far has $79 million earmarked for the project, which is slated to begin in 2023.

The project includes reducing the number of traffic lanes from six to four, improving pedestrian zones and widening sidewalks and enhancing street lighting. Additionally, center-running bus lanes and buffered bike lanes will be added, with drainage improvements also called for to address flooding issues in the area.

“This is an old state highway that has outlived its usefulness,” McGuire said. “Most of the truck traffic comes in from Arizona and now gets on U.S. (Highway) 95. So Boulder Highway we now suffer from a high-speed problem and collisions with pedestrians and bicyclists. We have way too many fatalities.”

The stretch of road has seen dozens of fatal auto-pedestrian crashes in recent years as the road was not constructed with pedestrians in mind.

“We’ve got people commuting by car, on foot or buses and on bicycles everyday,” Cortez Masto said. “We need to make sure that all of them are safe.”

After regular meetings with the city and the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, Boulder Highway was noted to be a key road in need of improvement, Cortez Masto said.

“I was able to reach out to (Transportation) Secretary (Pete) Buttigieg earlier this summer to talk about the federal funds that was needed for this specific project,” Cortez Masto said. “I’m pleased to say that the secretary was of course listening.”

Boulder Highway was built in 1931 as part of the construction of the Hoover Dam, serving then as the area’s only freeway. Since then the area surrounding the highway has grown exponentially, with over 20,000 homes, apartments and condominiums and nearly 1,000 commercial lots within a half-mile radius of the road.

The area serves over 10,000 Regional Transportation Commission bus riders and has 36,000 vehicles travel on it daily.

Henderson Mayor Pro Tem Dan Shaw said the upgrades will enhance the way of living for residents in the area.

“It extends northward into an area of Henderson that has been somewhat disadvantaged,” Shaw said. “It’s going to provide different transportation opportunities for all of those people to get to grocery stores and medical care and help them with employment opportunities with public transportation.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.