$3.4M road plan to ease traffic near new arena

With the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson a few months away from hosting its first events, city officials are in the process of making changes to nearby roadways to improve the anticipated event day traffic flow.

When the 6,000-seat arena was first conceptualized, many residents in the surrounding Green Valley Ranch subdivision voiced concerns about the impact it could have on the heavily residential area. Many were concerned about increased traffic congestion tied to events at the $84 million facility on the southeast corner of Green Valley and Paseo Verde parkways.

To get ahead of the situation, Henderson began a $3.4 million project last month that adds two new traffic signals on Paseo Verde Parkway and one on Green Valley Parkway.

One of the Paseo Verde signals is being installed at Village Park Drive, the main drag to Green Valley Ranch Resort and the District at Green Valley Ranch outdoor shopping mall, where some arenagoers are expected to park. The other will be added on Paseo Verde at Desert Shadow Trail, where a four-way stop currently exists.

The new signal on Green Valley Parkway will be located at the road leading to the Dollar Loan Center, the Henderson Multigenerational Center and Paseo Verde Library.

Work on the road project began in late September and is scheduled to continue through February, the same month construction on the arena is slated to wrap up.

In addition to the new signals, the road project also includes some lane improvements.

There will be an added southbound through lane on Green Valley Parkway, an added southbound to westbound right turn lane and an added northbound right-turn lane on Green Valley at Paseo Verde. The right-turn lane on northbound Green Valley Parkway also will be extended, said Kathy Blaha, spokeswoman for the City of Henderson.

“The traffic study performed for the event center provided recommendations to improve traffic flow,” Blaha said. “The improvements included with this project were among the recommendations proposed by the traffic study.”

Another project on the books looks to make further improvements to the corridor, including widening of 215 Beltway.

Clark County wrapped up a widening project earlier this year that saw the freeway go from three lanes to four from Windmill Lane to Pecos Road. Upgrades to the 215 interchanges at Pecos and Green Valley Parkway now are being reviewed, along with improvements to arterial streets in the area.

Henderson has been coordinating with RTC on these improvements, which are RTC funded.

To help with the change in traffic flow from a normal day to a game day, an adaptive signal system is being incorporated within the travel corridor.

Adaptive traffic signals utilize sensors to collect data, which is fed into a controller to review and develop signal timing improvements and modifications. The process is updated continually to ensure signal timing is reacting to real-time conditions.

Henderson and the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada carried out a pilot program with the adaptive signals on a 3.6-mile stretch of Eastern Avenue and saw travel times reduced by 25 percent.

In addition, Henderson has a contract with a parking specialist group, PATG, to handle event day traffic once the Dollar Loan Center opens.

“This is the same firm employed at T-Mobile and Allegiant (Stadium),” Blaha said.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter. Send questions and comments to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com.