Northbound traffic backs up Monday afternoon on Las Vegas Boulevard South between Blue Diamond and Pebble roads. Photo by Ralph Fountain. Traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard South passes Monday afternoon in front of the Manhattan condominiums, under construction at Serene Avenue. Photo by Ralph Fountain. Click image for enlargement. Graphic by Mike Johnson.

Karene Williams knew her neighborhood had changed dramatically when her usual 20-minute drive home from an evening out turned into an hour-and-a-half ordeal.

As motorists aimed their vehicles toward the new South Coast casino, traffic along Las Vegas Boulevard South came to a stop. The lanes, which vary from three to one in a matter of a mile, caused an immediate bottleneck.

Williams and other residents of the area fear that the situation is only going to get worse.

The South Coast casino at Silverado Ranch Boulevard marked the first major development on what some predict will become "the South Strip" portion of Las Vegas Boulevard.

At least nine more projects are planned for Las Vegas Boulevard south of Shelbourne Avenue, and that has Williams and her neighbors wondering how much more difficult and dangerous driving in and out of their neighborhood will become.

"Something needs to be done to stop this building until the highway and infrastructure catches up," said Williams, who lives at Richmar Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.

Williams e-mailed Clark County commissioners and argued that streets need to be widened and interchanges built before construction starts on two new casinos and at least eight condominium projects planned for Las Vegas Boulevard South.

While the Enterprise Town Board has rejected condo proposals because of the lagging traffic improvements, the commission has approved them.

"Why do we even bother to have the Enterprise Town Board, which is made up of people familiar with the area, if commissioners are just going to ignore them?" Williams said. "It's aggravating."

Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, who oversees the area, has expressed concerns about the planned high-rises because the road system in the area will struggle to accommodate additional motorists.

"It's a huge concern," Woodbury said. "All these proposals are outrunning our ability to get the infrastructure in place."

Commissioners have little choice but to approve the projects; each is on property that is zoned for condominiums or hotel-casinos, Woodbury said.

"If I had a magic wand, I would slow down growth. I'm not a big fan of this rapid growth," Woodbury said. "There is probably no way we can limit or refuse to allow them to move forward with developing their property."

The proposed condominium projects will start at Shelbourne Avenue and stretch to St. Rose Parkway. The residential buildings range from four stories to a 36-story tower proposed at Gary Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.

Gary Goett, the developer of Southern Highlands, plans to build a resort-casino at St. Rose Parkway and Las Vegas Boulevard. Station Casinos, meanwhile, is planning on challenging its rival Coast Casinos, the owner of the South Coast, with a counterpart resort at Cactus Avenue.

Clark County's planning division is conducting a study of the southern end of the boulevard to determine what effect the new developments will have on traffic.

"(Development) is just going to continue; that trend will continue," said Garrett Terberg, a principal planner for the southern region of the county. "We need to make sure we're covering all the transportation needs."

Woodbury emphasized the importance of improving road conditions before development to prevent another Blue Diamond Road.

Three fatal accidents occurred on the same two-lane stretch of Blue Diamond Road in one week, and since July 1, at least 17 people have died in traffic wrecks on the road, which is known also as state Route 160, connecting Las Vegas and Pahrump.

Traffic experts and people who live in the burgeoning neighborhoods off 160 all agree that simply too much traffic runs on the narrow road and that it lacks traffic signals.

Woodbury said in the case of Las Vegas Boulevard South: "Once again development has outpaced infrastructure improvements. The private sector can move on building homes and condos a lot faster than government can build roads and infrastructure."

Interstate 15 interchanges under construction at Blue Diamond Road and Silverado Ranch Boulevard are expected to ease some congestion along Las Vegas Boulevard South. The St. Rose Parkway interchange at I-15 will be redesigned in the next six months, the county's Public Works division said.

"Traffic is getting worse because of the incredible rate of growth," Woodbury said.

"We are going to try to accelerate all of our plans and be as creative as possible. We need to put a greater influence on the timing of infrastructure meeting the timing of growth. It's going to be a tough hill to climb."