Work Begins on Boulder City Bypass |
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Federal Highway Administration
6 April 2015
FHWA 25-15
Monsday, April 6, 2015
Contact: Nancy Singer
Tel.: (202) 366-0660
Nation's Top Federal Highway Official On Hand for Groundbreaking Ceremony
BOULDER CITY, Nev. – Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau represented the U.S. Department of Transportation today in a groundbreaking ceremony on the $318 million Boulder City Bypass project in Clark County, Nev. He was joined by state and federal officials.
"The new bypass will reduce traffic congestion on a key commercial route, improving mobility for thousands of drivers each day," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "Projects like this are why we proposed the Administration's 'GROW AMERICA' Act, a $478 billion bill that provides funding over six years, so states and communities will have stable funding long enough to tackle big infrastructure projects."
The traffic problems faced by Boulder City reaffirm the concerns outlined in "Beyond Traffic," a report recently released by USDOT. "Beyond Traffic" examines the trends and choices facing America's transportation infrastructure over the next three decades, including a rapidly growing population, increasing freight volume, demographic shifts in rural and urban areas, and a transportation system that is facing more frequent extreme weather events. Increased gridlock nationwide can be expected unless changes are made in the near-term.
US 93 serves as a major, regional corridor for interstate commerce – carrying as many as 34,000 vehicles per day on certain stretches. It is the only route through Boulder City, linking Phoenix and Las Vegas. When completed in 2018, the Boulder City Bypass will extend from the Hoover Dam Bypass at the Nevada-Arizona border to I-515 in Henderson, Nev. US 93 will be rerouted to the new bypass once completed.
"By improving mobility for thousands of drivers each day, the new bypass will greatly improve the ability of Clark County to compete economically," said Deputy Administrator Nadeau. "As everyone who has made that commute in the morning, you know anything we can do to shorten the drive from Boulder City to Las Vegas and back again is a good thing."
The project relies on FHWA's Advance Construction program, which would give the Nevada Department of Transportation the option to be reimbursed up to $291 million, or nearly 92 percent of project-related costs, from its future federal highway funding apportionments. The FHWA will also play a key role in helping to relocate US 93 to the new bypass and to ensure the highway meets standards needed to one day become part of the future I-11 between Phoenix and Las Vegas.