Major grants from Department of Transportation will upgrade and repair roadways throughout Nevada

June 9, 2008

Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign today announced more than $6 million in grant funding from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to ease traffic congestion and problems in southern, northern and rural parts of the state at a time when Nevada is facing a transportation budget shortfall.

Notable among the projects is the widening of Blue Diamond Highway (State Route 160) to four lanes from Rainbow Boulevard in Las Vegas to Pahrump, as well as vital upgrades to the Spaghetti Bowl freeway interchange and Interstate 215 Airport Connector. In northern Nevada, the interchanges at Vista and McCarran Boulevards on Interstate 80 in Reno will be improved, and Phase 2 of the Carson City Freeway (U.S. 395) will be constructed.

“Our great state continues growing and growing, and so do the challenges of our daily commute,” Reid said. “Every dollar of these grants is about improving our quality of life. Upgrading and fixing our roads throughout Nevada allows us to save gas and get where we need to be without as much hassle. We will continue working to make sure our state has the money to meet its transportation needs, even in lean economic times like these.”

“As the population of Nevada continues to grow, the traffic problems in our state continue to increase as well,” Ensign said.  “These funds will focus attention on the roadways most in need of repair and upgrade and will hopefully ease the stress of traffic congestion on many Nevadans.”

The projects funded by these grants are:

·         SOUTHERN NEVADA

o        U.S. 95/U.S. 93/I-15 Interchange (Spaghetti Bowl), $633,864: Construction and improvements to the Spaghetti Bowl interchange in downtown Las Vegas.

o        SR 160 (Blue Diamond Highway), $1,358,280: Widening from two to four lanes between Rainbow Boulevard in Las Vegas and Pahrump, a distance of approximately 46 miles.

o        Southern Nevada Beltway Interchanges, $996,072: Construction of four regional Beltway interchanges – I-215 Southern Beltway at Airport Connector, U.S. 95 North, I-15 and Summerlin Parkway.

o        Henderson Starr Road Interchange at I-15, $452,760: Construction of a complete interchange at I-15 and Starr Road that will provide access to a rapidly growing part of the western area of Henderson.

o        Craig Road Grade Separation/Overpass, $452,760: Road reconstruction, including widening and railroad grade separation on Craig Road from Berg Street to Pecos Road in North Las Vegas. This will reposition the current at-grade railroad crossing on Craig Road, in an area critical to access to Nellis Air Force Base.

o        I-15 Corridor Study, $226,380: Study to determine potential improvements along the Interstate 15 corridor in Clark County.

·         NORTHERN NEVADA

o        I-80 at Vista Boulevard and McCarran Boulevard, $679,140: Interchange improvements at two major points on Interstate 80 in Reno.

o        Carson Freeway, Phase 2, $905,520: Construction of nearly five miles of freeway on U.S. 395 between U.S. 50 East (East Williams Street) and U.S. 50/South Carson Street intersection.

o        Fernley Interchange at I-80, $452,760: Construction of a full diamond interchange that would create a safer, less congested traffic pattern for the high number of trucks in the Lyon County area.

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