Give transportation planners ‘all the tools’

Aside from wrapping up the widening of U.S. Highway 95 through central Las Vegas, little has changed for the Nevada Department of Transportation since the 2007 Legislature adjourned.

The cost of freeway materials is still rising faster than NDOT tax revenues. Diverted room and property tax money will fund limited improvements to Interstate 15 south of Sahara Avenue, while surplus general fund revenue is being used to fast-track the widening of I-15 north of the U.S. 95 interchange. Additional travel lanes are being built on state Route 160. Other pressing projects have been pushed farther into the future.

And toll roads are still illegal in the Silver State.

While myriad other states have the leeway to at least listen to offers from investment firms and consider public-private road partnerships, Nevada remains off-limits to such discussions. Lawmakers made sure of that earlier this year when they killed legislation that could have created the state's first toll experiment in Boulder City.

With the Hoover Dam bypass bridge nearing completion, an accompanying bypass highway that would take interstate traffic away from the twisting approach outside Boulder City and the town's main drag remains more than a decade away from construction.

There is no popular or political support in Nevada for converting existing roads and highway travel lanes into toll routes. But the Boulder City bypass would be built from scratch as an alternative to a much slower path, making it a perfect candidate for a toll -- users who want to save a bit of time and wear on their vehicles could pay for the convenience.

Would a private investment firm be willing to build and maintain the road, which could cost as much as half a billion dollars, in return for keeping all toll revenue for a fixed period of time? Perhaps. But we'll never be able to find out until state law is amended to allow such a negotiation to take place.

"We'd love to find out if that's feasible," NDOT Director Susan Martinovich said in a Tuesday meeting with the Review-Journal editorial board. "Just give us the ability to have that discussion."

"You want all the tools on the table," said Kent Cooper, NDOT's assistant director for planning.

The 2009 Legislature will be preoccupied with general fund spending and whatever budget cuts might result from the state's current economic hiccup. The state's highway needs won't be a priority.

It's all the more reason for lawmakers to give NDOT the opportunity to explore the feasibility of a toll highway around Boulder City, and let someone besides Nevada taxpayers pick up the cost of construction.