Beltway's environmental impacts draw residents' concerns

      The Las Vegas City Council gave the green light Monday to an ongoing highway project designed to alleviate traffic congestion in the valley.
      But several residents said the beltway is moving ahead at the expense of air quality, arguing that there are serious dust problems near parts of the freeway already under construction.
      Heeding those concerns, the council postponed a decision on how rigorously beltway planners should assess the project's environmental impacts.
      Instead, city lawmakers agreed to give Clark County permission to acquire the land it needs to complete the 30-mile freeway.
      "We are trying to accelerate the process," said Bruce Arkell, who is coordinating the project for Clark County. "If we do not secure the right-of-way now, we will have lost the opportunity."
      The beltway is planned to run throughout the valley, easing traffic congestion on Interstate 15 and U.S. 95. But some residents are worried that the construction could create a dust cloud over the city.
      Robert Hall, a resident of Sun City Summerlin, has started a group called the Nevada Environmental Coalition to restrict the beltway's progress until plans are in place to limit its health impacts. The Howard Hughes Corp. is grading a 4.5-mile stretch in Sun City that will be donated for the beltway. The grading of that land, which falls within city limits, is causing many residents to complain about the dust.
      "I think they're trying to do too much too fast, and it's going to get them in trouble," Hall said, adding that pollution caused by the project could prompt the federal government to withhold money for other transportation projects. "The rights of the people and the health of the people are going to be damned here."
      Arkell responded that beltway builders will have to comply with federal and state environmental laws.
      "I build (roads) in response to development," he said. "I don't precede development."
      The council also received assurances from Arkell that the freeway would not come within 50 feet of anyone's property.
      Council members also debated how far the county should go in assessing the environmental repercussions of the freeway. A full environmental impact statement could take nearly two years to complete, time that could be spent building the beltway.
      A shorter assessment, on the other hand, may not uncover the full environmental costs attached to the program, and risks losing federal funds. The council decided to wait until May to decide.
      The Clark County Commission takes up the highway project today.