Las Vegas NowTransportation Commission Prepares Stimulus Projects List

Transportation Commission Prepares Stimulus Projects List

The first stimulus money the state will see will mean smoother roads and construction jobs in the next four months. The Regional Transportation Commission will get about $40 million that's ready to be spent now.

The RTC wants to start projects right away. In construction terms, that means within four months work will start to repave roads all over the valley, like Eastern from Desert Inn to Sahara.

Check out a list of projects

The goal is to fix the cracks and spark the economy. From the side of the road, you can see that Pecos near Flamingo also needs repaving. You can hear it as the cars drive by.

The RTC asked local governments to send their wish list of roadwork to be finished. Under the stimulus package signed into law, the RTC received $38.8 million for road construction projects.

The general manager says it could have been used on one project, but dividing it up for 43 smaller projects from Mesquite to Downtown Las Vegas would have a greater economic spark.

How does Nevada's stimulus money rank with other states? 

"We really wanted to focus on a strategy that would give jobs for Nevadans. Breaking them up in smaller projects will one, create more jobs and two, those jobs will be for Nevadans," said RTC GM Jacob Snow.

Snow says the goal was to find projects that could be started within the next 120 days. Almost all of them on the list are repaving projects, "The design is essentially complete. There is not right of way. There is no environmental work involved, so we can get them out quickly."

The idea is to have a ripple effect on the economy. Local supplies bought for the projects help local companies and so do the jobs, meaning more local spending on everyday life.