Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Northwest valley catches small break
Area escapes repeat of road-damaging rain
By FRANK GEARY
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Residents of the northwest Las Vegas Valley got a reprieve Tuesday from rainfall that a day earlier damaged roadways, washed away curbs and clogged storm drains with debris.
A fraction of an inch of rain fell Tuesday, but more rain and scattered thunderstorms are expected between today and Friday, said Brian Fuis, spokesman for the National Weather Service in Las Vegas.
"We're in the soup for a few days," he said. "The first mention of no rain is Friday night."
A 50 percent chance of rain exists this morning. The afternoon forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of scattered showers with isolated thunder storms, Fuis said.
During an average February, Las Vegas gets about 0.69 inches of rain. This February has seen more than 1.75 inches.
Clark County and Las Vegas officials had closed roads Monday during a daylong storm that dropped more than two inches of rain in the northwest Las Vegas Valley. The roads were reopened by noon Tuesday, officials said.
Most of the damage to roads occurred in the northwest, but officials did not have a cost estimate for the damage because they were waiting to assess roadways still covered with water and mud.
Clark County Public Works spokesman Bobby Shelton said Corbett Street and Ann Road sustained the most damage from Monday's rainfall.
"We had some unimproved shoulders in the northwest that washed away. With the running water, some of those were undermined," Shelton said.
Debbie Ackerman, spokeswoman for Las Vegas Public Works, could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.
Betty Hollister, spokeswoman for the Clark County Regional Flood Control District, said Alexander Road suffered heavy damage because a flood-control channel has not been completed in the area yet.
Water Monday flowed east on Alexander, clogging storm drains with tumbleweeds, rocks, garbage and construction materials.
"These rocks were too big for me to pick up," she said.
One storm drain was clogged with four orange road construction cones, Hollister said.
The Lone Mountain Detention Basin, which pushed a steady stream of water onto Alexander on Monday, was designed to take in large amounts of rainfall and slowly release it onto the road, Hollister said.
An underground flood-control channel under construction along Alexander is expected to be operable by May and will collect water from the detention basin, Hollister said.
