Ringing in changes on the roads
The beginning of a new year always brings change.
And from chatter among valley transportation entities, it sounds like there will be a lot of change this year — Project NEON, the Boulder City Bypass, the widening of U.S. Highway 95 from Ann Road to Durango Drive. It’s a whole host of changes.
But there are constants, such as people and their questions.
Which is good, or I’d be out of a job.
Philip wrote in with a question about a road in need of repair:
“I use Eastern Avenue daily and am wondering if there is a schedule to resurface it between Desert Inn Road and Flamingo Road in the near future.”
Our usual Clark County source for answers, Dan Kulin, had the week off, but spokeswoman Stacey Welling kindly filled the gap.
The good news is that portion of Eastern is, in fact, scheduled to be resurfaced by Clark County, Welling said. And Clark County has a very detailed schedule for that sort of thing.
The bad news is that schedule goes a long way out, and your daily Eastern Avenue commute isn’t on it until 2016.
Andi also asked about a street in bad shape:
“I know that Nevada does not have a lot of money to repair a plethora of bad streets. But the street called Stephanie between Russell and Sunset roads is sooooooooooo bad that it is almost undrivable.”
That’s my neck of the woods, Andi. I could add to your complaint, about how the lanes suddenly merge without warning between Russell and Sunset.
Fortunately, those problems have solutions that will start relatively soon.
Kathleen Richards with the city of Henderson said Stephanie Street starting at Galleria Drive (not quite Sunset Road, but close) will be repaved all the way to Patrick Lane.
The project even includes a bridge over U.S. Highway 95 that will allow the city to make Stephanie a six-lane street on that stretch, though initially it will probably only be widened to four lanes, Richards said.
Construction will start in the summer.
I was driving a few weeks ago and ran across something that made me curious. Is the Road Warrior allowed to submit a question to herself? I’m not sure, but I did, and got an interesting answer.
Has anyone noticed the diagonal striping on that infamous stretch of the Las Vegas Beltway that has finally been repaved?
It’s on the left and right shoulders between Windmill Lane and Interstate 15. Yellow stripes that almost look like parallel parking spaces.
That’s another county question, and Welling said the stripes were installed to deter drivers who might be tempted to use those luxuriously wide shoulders as travel lanes.
Hopefully, those stripes do the job and people don’t try to drive — or park — over them.
And now it’s time for this week’s Road Warrior’s Reminder, from the Nevada Highway Patrol.
This week, state troopers are focusing on pedestrians. Following a spike in pedestrian deaths in 2013, it’s probably a good thing to spotlight.
“Pedestrians are taking far more risks, resulting in tragedy,” trooper Loy Hixson said.
So, if you plan to travel the streets on foot anytime soon, keep these tips in mind:
■ If you’re crossing a highway anywhere outside a marked crosswalk or at an intersection (at which the pedestrian has the right of way, even if there is no marked crosswalk), you need to yield to all vehicles.
■ If you’re crossing a highway where a pedestrian tunnel or bridge is present but you are not using it, you need to yield to all vehicles.
■ You can’t cross the road outside of a marked crosswalk between intersections controlled by traffic lights.
■ You can’t cross an intersection diagonally unless an official traffic-control device directs you to do so.
The gist of it all?
“Make sure to cross when it is safe,” Hixson said, “not just because you think you can.”
If you have a question, tip or tirade, send an email to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com. Include your phone number.
ROAD WORK AHEAD
■ The Las Vegas Beltway offramp bringing westbound traffic to the Airport Connector will be closed from 9 p.m. today until 5 a.m. Monday.
■ Vegas Drive between Rancho Drive and Interstate 15 will have lane restrictions for sewer line work until Feb. 15.
■ McWilliams Avenue from F Street to E Street will be closed starting Thursday for storm drain and sanitary sewer improvements. The northern half of McWilliams will remain accessible to homeowners.
■ Alta Drive between Hualapai Way and the Las Vegas Beltway will have lane disruptions indefinitely for landscaping.
■ Anasazi Drive between Lake Mead Boulevard and Town Center Drive will have lane disruptions indefinitely for landscaping.
■ Canyon Run Drive between Town Center Drive and Rampart Boulevard will have lane disruptions indefinitely for landscaping.
■ Hualapai Way between Anasazi Drive and Town Center Drive and between Charleston Boulevard and Town Center Drive will have lane disruptions indefinitely for landscaping.
■ On Kyle Canyon Road, there will be a one-lane closure with flaggers and a pilot car from Milepost 10 to Milepost 18 for shoulder widening and excavation work through the end of January.
■ The onramp to southbound Interstate 15 at D Street/Washington Avenue remains closed through the summer for the F Street project.
■ Disruptions on I-15, near Silverado Ranch Road and St. Rose Parkway, will continue through the end of the year for the Cactus Avenue interchange.
■ Lane restrictions on Vegas Drive between Rancho Drive and Jones Boulevard through January for street improvements.
■ Lane restrictions on Bonneville and Clark avenues between Las Vegas Boulevard and Maryland Parkway through January for street improvements.
GASOLINE PRICES
The average gasoline price Friday in the Las Vegas Valley was $3.23 per gallon. It was $3.30 in Nevada. The national average of $3.31 is up 2 cents from a week ago, up 7 cents from a month ago and up 4 cents from a year ago.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
