Officials expect 400k on Strip for New Year’s Eve

Several hundred thousand revelers are expected to cram into the Las Vegas Strip and downtown Saturday night to celebrate New Year’s Eve amid road closures, heavy police presence and bans on glass bottles and large bags, officials said Tuesday.

The wild card this year will be Mother Nature — whether the rain forecast for late Saturday and early Sunday does fall, which could complicate things at the end of this year and the start of next for authorities and partiers alike.

During a news conference Tuesday on preparations for traffic and crowd control this weekend, Metropolitan Police Department Undersheriff Andrew Walsh said he expects an influx of more than 400,000 visitors and locals for the area’s famous outdoor block party and fireworks display.

“As usual we will have a very large law enforcement contingent that will be on Las Vegas Boulevard and downtown Las Vegas,” Walsh said.

“I can assure you we are doing everything we can to be prepared to keep this city safe for New Year’s Eve,” he said.

Police will be enforcing local ordinances in effect each New Year’s Eve, including no glass bottles, no large bags and no strollers on the Strip, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., Walsh said.

To begin with, the off-ramps for Flamingo Road on Interstate 15 will be closed in both directions at 5 p.m. Saturday. Road closures on the Strip will start at 6:30 p.m. from Spring Mountain Road south to Tropicana Avenue.

By 8 p.m., all of Las Vegas Boulevard will be closed to traffic until 6 a.m. But through traffic will be open on Spring Mountain and Tropicana, Walsh said.

Las Vegas city and Clark County firefighters and public safety personnel will be working jointly over New Year’s.

Government employees will put up some 4,000 metal barriers to control the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, culminating right after midnight in an eight-minute fireworks display launched from the rooftops of eight buildings along the Strip, Clark County Commission Chairman Jim Gibson said at the conference.

“Las Vegas is of course one of the most popular places in the world to spend New Year’s, and we will see it and people around the world will see the celebration live on television this year just like they have in the past,” Gibson said.

Teams of first responders and local ambulance companies will be stationed along parts of the Strip for medical emergencies, he said.

The county Fire Department will oversee the setting off of the fireworks from a command center at the off-strip Rio hotel and from the rooftops where the explosives will be shot into the air, he said.

On the Strip, within about an hour after midnight, when the crowd is projected to thin out, drivers will get into 16 street sweepers to push out an estimated 12 tons of trash left behind by partygoers, according to Gibson.

Las Vegas Boulevard should be clear of debris and open again by 6 a.m. Sunday, he said.

“It all depends on when people begin to break up,” he said. “They always linger a little while.”

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman urged those coming to the Strip and downtown to be wary about the alcohol they consume.

“We must all make the best choices which means if you’ve had too much to drink, you put your keys down and call for a ride,” she said.

But even with the best preparation humanly possible, not much can be done when there’s an 80 percent chance of rain — up to a quarter inch — in the forecast for Saturday night in Las Vegas, plus a 40 percent chance of showers Sunday morning, according to weather.com.

“The only thing we have to concern ourselves now is the weather,” Goodman said.

The Regional Transportation Commission is to provide free transit in buses to and from the Strip, starting at 6 p.m. Saturday and ending at 6 a.m. Sunday.

The Las Vegas Monorail will run continuously from 7 a.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Monday. Tickets for the monorail will go for $1 a ride from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday.

County Deputy Fire Chief Warren Whitney said that those planning to join the partying Saturday should “wear warm clothes, stay hydrated and be prepared to walk a lot.”

Contact Jeff Burbank at jburbank@reviewjournal.com. Contact him @JeffBurbank2 on Twitter.