Strip workers hope to skirt marathon

The venue for the Zappos.com Rock n' Roll Marathon is tough to beat -- right down the gut of the Strip. On the flip side, it also can be problematic for people who work at the casinos and have to be on time. A more detailed story on traffic impacts will appear in Thursday's newspaper, but we'll lead off today's hodge-podge of questions with the most pressing question from several Strip employees.

Is it true that more of the Las Vegas Strip will be used for the marathon this Sunday than in year's past?

Yes and no. Since the inception of the Las Vegas marathon, runners have started near Mandalay Bay and continued on Las Vegas Boulevard until Fremont Street. After the Experience they headed off to more suburban areas.

This year, the Strip will be closed to vehicular traffic longer because those wacky marathoners will head north on the Strip to Fremont Street, then turn back and chug along the southbound lanes of the Strip. Those running the full marathon will then head west on Hacienda Avenue and return to Mandalay Bay. At Hacienda, the Strip essentially will be closed from 3 a.m. to 1 p.m.; other portions will be closed from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Giorgio asks: Do you have any information on when work will resume on the enlargement project of Interstate 215 from Lone Mountain to Interstate 15? I know there was a dispute between two contractors and no progress was made in 2010.

The dispute between Fisher Sand & Gravel and Las Vegas Paving has to do with the stretch of the 215, also known as the Las Vegas Beltway, between Tenaya Way and Decatur Boulevard. In January, a federal judge ruled that the contract should be awarded to Fisher. That project is in the design phase and, like most road projects, will not be completed until the funding is available.

The entire project includes widening Interstate 215 . Improvements will be made between Craig Road and Hualapai Way, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Knight. Major interchanges will be built at Lone Mountain and Ann Road. Plans for the project are expected to be finished next year, but like so many road endeavors, this one will have to wait until funding is available.

This from Jerry: I drive I-15 frequently and wonder why NDOT did not make the post colors orange for the express lanes. Drive the route and see how far away you can see the white poles? They blend in with the highway lines. Orange is the approved color to get motorists attention so why does the department use white? When you see the amount of white posts that have been hit you would think they would change something.

The department uses white because vehicles are allowed to travel in the same direction on either side of the paddles. Yellow is used to separate traffic traveling in opposite directions; orange designates construction zones. The folks at the transportation agency acknowledged that the reflectivity of the poles diminished faster than anticipated and they are not as easy to see. Several of the "candlesticks" have been taken out by vehicles and, at a cost of $3 apiece, replacing them can add up quickly. The agency will begin making the paddles more reflective, and therefore more visible, early next year.

As a side note, the transportation department also had problems with vehicles sneaking out of the express lanes through the delineators -- which were spaced 25 feet apart -- and added paddles. The paddles will extend the entire length of the express lanes when the I-15 south design-build project is finished in 2012.

In light of the controversy over the Transportation Security Administration's new pat-down procedures several readers have called in with this question: Does (you name the airport) have full-body image scanners?

I wasn't able to return each phone call I received from travelers hoping to avoid airports with these scanners. As we all know by now, TSA agents pat down passengers who refuse the scanner. Those who walk through the metal detectors or do not have a problem with the scanner are not subjected to pat-downs. There are 68 airports nationwide with the scanners. A list can be found under frequently asked questions on the "our approach" link at tsa.gov.

By the way, even critics of the new security procedures have found some humor in this controversy. A reader sent in this proposed bumper sticker: "TSA: We are now free to move about your pants."

If you have a question, tip or tirade, call Adrienne Packer at (702) 387-2904, or send an e-mail to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com. Include your phone number.