Firm to study transit options in Las Vegas resort corridor

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada is spending nearly $2.3 million to take a closer look at transit options linking the Strip, McCarran International Airport and downtown Las Vegas.

Louis Berger U.S. Inc. will spend the next year studying existing traffic conditions, land-use changes and issues affecting how visitors and workers get around an area collectively known as the resort corridor, under a contract this month with the RTC’s board of directors.

Several factors will be taken into account, including the region’s growing number of tourists, downtown redevelopment, construction of the Raiders’ stadium by 2020, resort projects on the northern Strip and a planned expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The results are expected to dovetail with an ongoing study by Nelson/NYGAARD Consulting, which is examining 25 heavily used corridors in Clark County, said David Swallow, a senior director with the RTC.

RTC and county officials are already considering several options to relieve congestion through the resort corridor, including a light-rail line that would primarily run along Maryland Parkway and elevated expressways that would link the airport with the Strip.

Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Follow @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.