Arnold M. Knightly The Editor's Desk

At first look, last week’s press release from the country’s most powerful politician outside the White House ballyhooing a $2 million procurement for the Boulder City Bypass had me rolling my eyes.

“I’m pleased that this funding will support making the much-needed Boulder City Bypass a reality,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in an Aug. 25 statement. “I will continue to ensure that this bypass remains a priority on the federal level as we work to alleviate congestion and remove truck traffic that’s been a nuisance to residents of Boulder City.”

Are we, as stakeholders in Boulder City, really supposed to get excited about this?

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The Boulder City Bypass added $2 million to its coffers today when federal transportation officials announced their federal funding for Nevada.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced $11.5 million in federal grants for the state split over nine projects.

The federal government has already given nearly $40 million to the nearly $500 million project through the years. However, the cost dynamic of the project has changed with state Sen. Joe Hardy now pursuing plans for phase two of the bypass through a private-public partnership that would fund the nearly $400 million 17-mile project.

The $2 million would likely got to the Nevada Department of Transportation’s phase 1 plan which is scheduled to begin construction later this year or early in 2012. The cost of that phase has been estimated at at least $159 million.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced $417.3 million in grants for state highway projects today.

Federal officials had to go through more than 1,800 applications from all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico totaling nearly $13 billion.

I think we should be thankful for what we got. -Arnold M. Knightly

By Arnold M. Knightly, Editor

This watch?v=SbWg-mozGsU video made me ponder the future of the toll road around Boulder City

By Arnold M. Knightly, Boulder City Review

You know the old adage, something is better than nothing? When it comes to Boulder City’s desired truck band during an upcoming road construction project, the city ended up with something.

Transportation officials in Nevada, Arizona and the federal government have reached an agreement to restrict some truck traffic through Boulder City during upcoming road-widening construction on U

.S. Highway 93.

The Nevada Department of Transportation said June 14 that many large trucks traveling southbound on the highway through Hemenway Valley will be rerouted during peak traffic hours, approximately 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The restrictions will include all trucks and commercial vehicles exceeding 26,000 pounds in gross weight.

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By Arnold M. Knightly, Boulder City Review

The Boulder City Bypass took a big step forward Tuesday night with the state Senate passing a bill directing the state Transportation Department to establish a public-private partnership to finance a toll road around the city.

Senate Bill 214, authored by Sen. Joe Hardy of Boulder City, passed by a vote of 19-2.

The bill will now move to the Assembly where it will likely be referred to the Assembly Transportation Committee, according to a Nevada Department of Transportation spokesman.

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By Arnold M. Knightly, Boulder City Review

Two bills that would allow toll roads in Nevada were passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee by a unanimous vote on Friday, setting the stage for possible Senate votes next week.

However, a state transportation official said that if the Senate does not vote on the measure by Tuesday, April 26, the bills will die.

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By Jack Johnson, Boulder City Review

State Sen. Joe Hardy introduced a bill in the Nevada Legislature March 2 that could legalize toll roads in an effort to expedite construction of the Boulder City bypass.

The move would allow the state to pay for the 14-mile bypass by partnering with a private company, speeding up a project that could take at least 20 years if only government funds are used, Hardy said.

“It would behoove us to use money in private industry to form a public-private partnership to form a road around Boulder City,” he said.

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By Arnold M. Knightly, From the Editor’s Desk

Developments on the road-widening of U.S. Highway 93 and the push for a city bypass have been coming fast and furious. From Carson City to Washington, D.C., this little town of 15,000 has been the topic of discussion more so than probably any other time in recent history.

But beyond the road-widening, which seems by all indications to be coming this fall, will the momentum sustain enough to fund a bypass? And how will the bypass be funded — by state, federal or even private dollars?

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By Arnold M. Knightly, The Editor’s Desk

Building the Boulder City Bypass might be the only long-term solution to alleviating the city’s traffic woes, but building it for only that reason does not make sense.

To build a 12-mile loop south of the city could bring an urge for business and residential expansion that would go against the controlled-growth fabric of this community.

Or is that controlled-growth fabric fading?

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By Nikki Villoria, Special To Boulder City Review

About 40 residents from Boulder City and Henderson attended a meeting with representatives of the Nevada Department of Transportation on Monday to discuss phase one of the Boulder City Bypass project.

The intent of the meeting, which took place at Mannion Middle School, was to update residents on changes made to the project since the last public meeting in 2009.

“The project is broken up into two phases, phase one consisting of four project sections,” said Tony Lorenzi, the Bypass project manager.

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