Joe Donaldson of Sign-A-Rama replaces light bulbs Wednesday on the Four Queens. The company has been replacing thousands of lights on the casino for the New Year's celebrations. Photo by John Locher. Click image for enlargement.

You might be shopping for champagne and party hats, but officials are preparing security and traffic measures for Las Vegas' biggest party night.

Security measures for New Year's Eve will be much the same as in prior years, with 98 percent of Las Vegas police officers on duty from New Year's Eve through New Year's Day, police said.

Radio communication between police, fire and local governments have been improved and tested, receiving high marks from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said Jim O'Brien, Clark County director of emergency management and homeland security.

The fireworks show, which will be shot off to music from James Bond films, looks like a go, with meteorologists predicting little wind and midnight temperatures in the low 40s on the Strip, said John Adair of the National Weather Service. High winds had threatened last year's fireworks show, but the winds died down, allowing the show to proceed without a hitch.

The forecast for traffic on the famed stretch of resorts is, as usual, nightmarish.

Las Vegas Boulevard will be closed from Russell Road to Sahara Avenue, but the time the closure starts will depend on when revelers move from the sidewalks to the streets.

Closures could occur as early as 6 p.m. or as late as 9 p.m. New Year's Eve, said Bobby Shelton spokesman for Clark County's public works department.

Also shut down will be many east-west streets, between the Strip and Interstate 15, and many I-15 exits in the resort corridor New Year's Eve.

"If they plan to go down there (the Strip), plan to get there early and stay late," Shelton said.

At the Clark County Government Center, the Emergency Operations Center will be on standby with a skeleton crew of about a dozen or so, O'Brien said. About 100 to 125 people will be on call if any major incidents happen.

"We've gotten commitments from the people that, 'Yeah, I'll be sober,'" he said.

At Nevada Highway Patrol headquarters, law enforcement agencies will be locating police, ambulances and fire vehicles where they are needed, said Bill Cassell, a Las Vegas police spokesman.

"There are plans in place to address every possible public safety concern, from traffic issues, to the influx of guests to the city, to more serious events that could take place," he said. He added that he was unaware of any terrorist threats to Las Vegas related to the celebration.

The added police force on the Strip will not take away from police in neighborhoods, Cassell said. "Citizens really need to understand we're not pulling cops out of neighborhoods to put them onto the Strip," he said.

New Year's Eve ordinances for safety on the Strip and at the Fremont Street Experience will be in effect, Cassell said.

The first is a no-cans-and-bottles ordinance that goes into effect at 6 p.m. on New Year's Eve and ends at 6 a.m. on New Year's Day. The other ordinance is a curfew for unaccompanied minors, starting at 6 p.m. and ending at 5 a.m.

Police near the crowds will judge when to close sections of the Strip and adjacent cross streets. Closures probably will remain in place until about 4 a.m. New Year's Day, allowing crowds to disperse and clean-up work to finish.

Closures could restrict vehicle access to Strip resorts, and visitors might want to consider parking outside the restricted area.

The Fashion Show mall is opening its parking to the public at a cost of $30 per vehicle.

For the second consecutive year, authorities will use metal gates to close east-west streets between I-15 and the Strip.

East-west streets that will be closed near the Strip include Flamingo Road, Tropicana Avenue, Spring Mountain Road, Reno Avenue, Harmon Avenue, Stardust Lane, Circus Circus Drive and Convention Center Drive, Shelton said.

The Nevada Highway Patrol is expected to close I-15 ramps at Tropicana, Flamingo and Spring Mountain, Shelton said.

Possible north-south alternate routes include I-15, Paradise Road, Koval Lane and Frank Sinatra Drive, but Shelton said drivers can expect traffic jams on all streets and lane closures on Sinatra.

East-west alternatives include U.S. Highway 95, the Las Vegas Beltway, Russell, Sahara and Sunset Road. The freewaylike section of Desert Inn Road will be open.

Drivers can use Citizens Area Transit to reach the Strip from downtown Las Vegas or other valley locales where parking might be more available. CAT will be offering free bus rides from 6 p.m. New Year's Eve to 6 a.m. New Year's Day. And the Las Vegas Monorail will be operating between Sahara and Tropicana behind the Strip's east side until 3 a.m. New Year's Day, with base one-way fares of $5.