$25 million to help launch Ace express bus route
Regional transportation officials plan to break ground next month on the first leg of a rapid transit bus system that eventually will crisscross the valley.
Regional Transportation Commission general manager Jacob Snow made the announcement Wednesday, the same day U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley announced $25 million in federal transportation money for the $75 million project connecting Sahara Avenue, and the Las Vegas Monorail, to downtown Las Vegas.
The route, dubbed the downtown connector, will be the first leg of what transportation planners call the Ace, a valleywide express bus system to complement Citizens Area Transit buses and the Deuce double-decker bus system that operates on the Strip and other routes. It is expected to open by summer 2009, Snow said.
The Ace eventually would be extended down the Strip and serve McCarran International Airport. Other routes are planned on Boulder Highway, Sahara Avenue, Flamingo Road, Maryland Parkway, North Fifth Street and in parts of Henderson.
The Ace buses will be similar to the bullet-shaped Metropolitan Area Express buses that currently ply Las Vegas Boulevard North, making infrequent trainlike "station" stops instead of pausing at numerous corners as do traditional fixed-route buses.
The Ace line will mix with traffic on the Strip but make fewer stops than the Deuce buses serving that route.
Transportation officials had discussed building bus-only lanes down the median of the Strip to expedite travel.
"That could be a possibility for the future," Snow said.
Closer to downtown, the Ace buses will have their own lane. The transit line will stop at Fremont Street Experience and follow Grand Central Parkway, stopping at the World Market furniture center, Las Vegas Premium Outlets mall and other locations.
Berkley, D-Nev., requested the $25 million in federal money in 2004 for a mass transit project in Southern Nevada. At the time, transportation planners were considering using the money for several projects, including the Las Vegas Monorail and light rail, Berkley spokesman David Cherry said.
The money was released after the Transportation Commission decided on the express bus system, he said.
Review-Journal Assistant City Editor Michael Squires contributed to this report.