Better Beltway vehicular flow is aim of work

Periodic lane closures, detours and congestion can be expected while Clark County road workers proceed with construction on a portion of the Las Vegas Beltway until 2014.

The project aims to improve the highway, install new interchanges, drainage and a bridge on the stretch between Tenaya Way and Decatur Boulevard.

The $117 million Clark County Route 215 Bruce Woodbury Beltway project is a Clark County Public Works endeavor with Las Vegas Paving as the prime contractor, said department assistant manager Michael Mamer.

New highway interchanges at Jones and Decatur boulevards and a new bridge will carry Bradley Road over the freeway in plans for the project.

When finished, the county says, commuters will see improved traffic flow across the northern Las Vegas Beltway as there will be more than seven miles of nonstop, four-lane freeway from just east of U.S. Highway 95 to Losee Road.

Detours, lane and road closures and increased truck traffic are expected for the next 2½ years, Mamer said.

"The bulk of the work at the beginning will be earth work that will involve trucks hauling dirt off the project to a dump site north of the Beltway," he said. "There could be delays involved with increased truck traffic."

One million cubic yards of dirt is to be excavated to a site in North Las Vegas. Dust is not expected to be an issue, Mamer said.

Las Vegas Paving has proposed to use Jones and Decatur boulevards as haul roads, depending on where the material is on the site, according to the office of Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Ross, Ward 6.

As Elkhorn Road is closed, the contractor plans to use Farm Road as an alternative.

Mamer said hauling is expected to last about six months, with intermittent hauling of materials afterward.

There will be three detours in the first phase of this project, Ross' office said.

Jones Boulevard is to be detoured to the west, and a temporary signal light will be used.

Bradley Road is to be shut down at the Las Vegas Beltway and reopened after the bridge is complete. Decatur Boulevard is to be detoured to the west, with two lanes northbound and one lane southbound.

A temporary signal light is also to be used in this location.

Mamer asks motorists to heed to speed limit changes and advisory notices for the safety of themselves and construction crews.

For more information, call 455-6100.

Contact Centennial and North Las Vegas View reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@viewnews.com or 477-3839.