$18.3 million in road projects coming to North Las Vegas
More than 250 construction jobs are coming to North Las Vegas as the city and the Regional Transportation Commission announced $18.3 million worth of transportation improvement projects Tuesday.
North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee, Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick and North Las Vegas Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown addressed a small gathering at Desert Horizon Park to kick off four projects funded by fuel revenue indexing, the higher gasoline tax that took effect earlier this year and is tied to the rate of inflation.
The four projects are improvements on Simmons Street between Cheyenne Avenue and Alexander Road, Losee Road improvements between Craig Road and the 215 Beltway, the rehabilitation of Carey Avenue from Revere Street to Interstate 15 and a pedestrian bridge over Losee Road at Lone Mountain Road.
After brief remarks, construction trucks broke through a banner symbolizing a ribbon-cutting for the four projects that are beginning this month and in July and will be completed later this year and in 2015.
The park where the event was staged is on Simmons in the heart of the $4.1 million street improvement project that will eliminate a zigzagging sawtooth pattern of pavement between Cheyenne and Alexander.
The project includes full-width street reconstruction, LED street light installations and a new traffic signal at Simmons and Gowan Road which will make pedestrian corridors safer for students walking to and from Cheyenne High School.
The job bid was won by Aggregate Industries with subcontractors C&S Co. and Nevada Barricade & Sign, and is providing 53 jobs. The project is expected to take a year to complete.
Details of the other projects:
* The $10 million Losee Road project creates 141 jobs under contractor Aggregate Industries and subcontactors Jemison Surveying and Hightower Trucking. The project will last a year and begins in July. It will include pavement improvements, new sidewalks, new traffic signals tied to the Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation system, utility adjustments and landscaping.
* The $1.9 million Carey Avenue project will include pavement repairs, new pavement installation, new medians and signs and will provide better access to surrounding businesses and transit stops. Contractor Aggregate Industries and subcontractor Nevada Barricade & Sign are creating 24 jobs on the project that will be completed by fall.
* The $2.3 million Losee Road-Lone Mountain Road pedestrian bridge would provide safe access to new multiuse trails for hikers and bikers. Contractor Capriati Construction and subcontractor Southwest Specialty Coatings are providing 34 jobs on the project due for completion by spring.
The four projects will be funded by fuel revenue indexing, which is expected to raise more than $700 million for 185 transportation projects providing an estimated 9,000 jobs in three years.
Tied to the producer price index, the system enabled gasoline stations in Clark County to begin collecting an additional 3.25 cents a gallon in fuel tax in January. The tax on regular gasoline will be increased July 1 to 6.6 cents a gallon.
Goynes-Brown said she didn’t think it would have been possible to get the four projects going without the new tax.
“Without fuel tax indexing, who knows when these projects would have been started,” she told the crowd.
Kirkpatrick, a 22-year North Las Vegas resident, led the Assembly’s effort to enable the County Commission to consider an ordinance implementing fuel tax indexing through December 2016.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Find him on Twitter: @RickVelotta.
