Beltway namesake helped steer direction of transportation

Former Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury was so against naming the Las Vegas Beltway in his honor that the commission waited until Woodbury was out of town to pass the resolution during a meeting in 2004.

Woodbury said he was aware of a movement in the Henderson Chamber of Commerce to pursue renaming the freeway the Bruce Woodbury Beltway, and he told fellow chamber members to hold off.

"I was very honored, and I felt somewhat unworthy and a little embarrassed about it," Woodbury said. "For one thing, I'm not dead, and usually they name things after dead people."

Even though he did not want the honor, his wife, Rose Woodbury, said she thought it was well-deserved.

"I can't imagine our town without the Beltway," she said.

The sign Woodbury was presented with at the dedication still hangs in their garage in Boulder City, she said, along with the road sign from Laughlin.

Woodbury has roads named for him in Laughlin, Mesquite and Logandale. He also has a namesake post office in Boulder City .

"The best one was six years ago, when they named a grandson for me," he said.

Rose Woodbury said the grandson has taken claim of the Beltway and reminds the family of "his" road whenever they drive on it.

Bruce Woodbury said he believes his leadership in transportation earned him the honor.

"As we were getting out of the 1980 s, this community was growing so incredibly fast, and we had a freeway and rail system for 250,000, and we were already over that with population," he said.

He said he approached voters to seek resources so the development of the Beltway did not need to rely solely on federal funds.

"The new bus system, that was one of the accomplishments that I feel best about," he said.

Woodbury served as a county commissioner from 1981-2009. He was a member of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada from 1985 to 2009 and was chairman from 1991-2009.

His daughter Wendy Randall recalls attending the Beltway dedication ceremony and said that even then, her father mentioned that the only thing he wanted named for him was a grandson. He got his wish.

She said she remembers her mother taking her to piano lessons in Las Vegas from Boulder City when she was little and how difficult it was to get around before the Beltway.

"I'm so grateful for it because living in Boulder City, it's been a great thing to commute on when we go to Las Vegas," she said.

She said her own children are always excited when they see the sign and tell their friends that it's named after their grandfather.

"Most people know him as the county commissioner that he was for 28 years, but his more remarkable gifts are being a great father and grandfather," Randall said. "Kids are attracted to him like a magnet. He never raised his voice at us growing up, and he's just a super kind and gentle human being."

The county did not have enough money to complete the Beltway all at once, so it was done one phase at a time.

"There was a noticeable improvement in the traffic flow," Bruce Woodbury said. "Not that we're free of traffic congestion, of course, but it took a lot of pressure off the U.S. 95 and the I-15," he said.

Woodbury is still involved in transportation in a consulting role with the Nevada Department of Transportation, the RTC and private transportation. He thinks there is still work to do.

"We certainly have not solved all of our problems, and we're going to need additional transportation capacity - a bypass around Boulder City," he said.

He also expects that Clark County will need additional capacity on U.S. Highway 95, Interstate 15 and the Beltway . He suggests the consideration of express tollways to reduce congestion.

Woodbury is an attorney in Boulder City. He specializes in personal injury and wrongful death, estate planning and probate and business law.

"Every time I drive on the Beltway and go by one of those signs, it still kind of catches me by surprise," Woodbury said. "I think, 'Gee, one day I'll be deserving of it.' "

Contact Centennial and North Las Vegas View reporter Laura Phelps at lphelps@viewnews.com or 702-477-3839.