Las Vegas chamber pushes for speed in building Las Vegas-Phoenix interstate

WASHINGTON — Southern Nevada’s business community is pushing to speed construction of Interstate 11 between Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce members and leaders traveled to Washington, D.C., this week. A group of more than 50 business people and officials visited with members of the Nevada congressional delegation and others about a range of issues, including getting I-11 built so it provides faster travel between Phoenix and Las Vegas.

“It’s really one of our top priorities,” said Kristin McMillan, president and chief executive officer of the chamber. Las Vegas and Phoenix are the only two large adjacent metropolitan areas not connected by an interstate. As a result, the cities miss out on economic development opportunities in areas involving warehousing, freight and logistics.

Right now, I-11 is a multijurisdictional effort that spans two states – Arizona and Nevada. Officials envision the project stretching from the Mexico border to Canada, running through Arizona, Nevada north of Las Vegas and into Idaho. It’s a project that ultimately would add another arterial for commerce, linking the intermountain West to ports in California and Mexico.

For now, officials are focusing on the stretch from Las Vegas to Phoenix, well aware that the complete route is an undertaking that will take decades to finish. Beyond Las Vegas, the interstate would connect to I-80, though the exact route through rural Nevada hasn’t been determined.

U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., is co-chair of an I-11 caucus that includes congressional members from Arizona.

“In all of this, I want to be sure that the emphasis stays on Las Vegas to Phoenix,” Titus said. “That’s the most needed part. That’s the part we’ve got to do first. I don’t want to have that lost while we wait to get the whole thing done.”

U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said he talked recently with Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx about the importance of the interstate.

“Secretary Foxx promised to work with us closely,” Heller said.

One challenge will be deciding where the route in Nevada will run north of Las Vegas. “That decision has to be made locally in my opinion, and then the planning process can start,” Heller said.

It’s important to be open-minded about the route through Northern Nevada, said Ron Smith, a Sparks city councilman and vice chairman of the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County.

“We want the best route,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., said he expects it to be a decade or more before the state sees the leg from Las Vegas to I-80, adding that funding will be the biggest challenge. When finished, the project will provide a “viable alternative” that’s good for interstate commerce, he said.

In Southern Nevada, work is underway on the Boulder City bypass, the first section of Interstate 11. The 15-mile bypass project includes one portion overseen by the Nevada Department of Transportation and a 12.5-mile stretch that the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada is handling north and east from the O’Callaghan-Tillman Memorial Bridge over the Colorado River. The new highway will go through the Eldorado Mountains, then south of Boulder City, looping north over U.S. Highway 95 near the Railroad Pass Casino. The 2.5-mile stretch closest to Las Vegas near Railroad Pass is the state’s portion because two separate funding systems are used.

Tina Quigley, general manager of the RTC, said the different jurisdictions are working well together.

“It is unusual in the world of transportation to have so much collaboration and coordination associated with a project,” she said.

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Follow him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1