KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasHighway Bill Puts Nevada on The Fast Track
Nevada will definitely benefit from the new $286.4 billion transportation bill President Bush signed today. The Silver State will now receive more than $260 million a year for the next five years for highway improvements and state of the art transportation systems. That's a total of $1.3 billion for the state.
Southern Nevada will be on the fast track to having one of the most state-of-the-art transportation systems in the country -- proposed projects include the widening of I-15 and other major highways.
As more and more people move into southern Nevada, the need for wider roads is evident and much-needed projects will now become a reality thanks to the money coming to the state as part of a highway bill signed by the president.
The money is divided up among states according to the amount of gasoline purchased at the pump. In Nevada, 18 cents per gallon will go toward improving the valley's highways and transit systems.
The bill includes $50 million for a new bridge over the Colorado River that will carry traffic that must now cross the Hoover Dam. Plans are also in the works to widen I-15 and US 95, and to connect Martin Luther King Boulevard to Industrial Road.
Another $18 million will be used to create a new "Max Bus" rapid transit system that will carry passengers down Boulder Highway by the year 2008.
Ingrid Reisman, with the Regional Transportation Commission, says, "It is set up like a rail with longer gaps and fewer stops."
Reisman also says the money puts southern Nevada on the fast track for being able to handle increaded traffic flow. "We need to add roads and provide the types of transit in other cities to help us all thrive together."
It took almost two years to move the legislation to fund these types of projects through Congress. But officials say the benefits will be seen in southern Nevada for years to come.
Officials will use the money to continue to develop plans for a high-speed train that would connect Las Vegas to Southern California.
Officials say many of the projects will also need state funding, which is decided on a yearly basis. The federal funds will help for the next five years.
Contact Reporter Lindsay Patterson
