BOULDER CITY, NV (FOX5) -
Two major transportation projects affecting southern Nevada are slowly becoming closer to reality - Interstate 11 and a Boulder City bypass.
On Thursday, the Nevada Department of Transportation and Regional Transportation Commission held an open house in Boulder City to update residents on both projects.
For 21-year Boulder City resident Chuck Lennon, a bypass can't come fast enough with all the traffic he deals with.
"The weekends, it's just horrible," said Lennon. "With everybody either trying to get to Arizona or from Arizona, it's horrible."
The first three miles of the bypass will be funded by NDOT, but the next 12 miles, costing between $350 and $450 million, will have to come from an outside company in a public-private partnership.
"There's some companies that have already talked with us," said Boulder City Mayor Roger Tobler. "In fact, we've had one here in Boulder City that's been talking for a couple years."
The RTC could have a buyer by early 2013, but the costs will be paid back through tolls. Just how much they'll be is still being figured out.
"I think the big question is, is will the tolling revenues be sufficient for building the project?" said Tobler, who also serves on the RTC's board.
The bypass could become part of an even bigger project - Interstate 11.
Las Vegas and Phoenix are the two largest metropolitan areas in the country not connected by an interstate highway. By the weekend, Congress is expected to approve the corridor linking the two cities and opening the door for the long overdue project.
"There's gonna be renewed interest, there's going to be a big push to upgrade U.S. 93 to interstate standards," said NDOT's Sondra Rosenberg. "We still have to find money to do all that."
Portions of I-11 could become public-private partnerships, according to Rosenberg, meaning additional toll roads.
Tolls look to be the fastest option to getting both projects built.
According to the RTC, federal funding for the Boulder City bypass wouldn't come until 2035.
Estimates with the public-private partnership have the bypass finished sometime between 2018 and 2019.
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