News Briefs

Trails at Lake Mead to be temporarily closed for repairs

The Historic Railroad Trail and 17 miles of the River Mountains Loop Trail within Lake Mead National Recreation Area will have temporary closures now through Nov. 17 as improvements are made.

The trails will be closed at 6 a.m. Mondays through 5 p.m. Thursdays during the project. According to the Park Service, there will be some equipment on the side of the trails during construction but it will not be in the way when the trails are open to the public Thursday evenings through Sundays.

Plans call for the Historic Railroad Trail to be stabilized and resurfaced, making it more accessible.

Crews will patch cracks and fix wash-out issues along the trail. Pavement will be replaced in some areas and a slurry seal coat and new paint to mark the trail will be added to most of the pathway.

During the closure, rangers encourage visitors to visit the Bluffs Trail as a nearby alternative. The moderate trail is 10 miles north of the Historic Railroad Trail. The Trail head is at the Las Vegas Bay Campground site No. 72 and is 3.9 miles long round-trip.

For more information on alternative trails at Lake Mead, visit www.nps.gov/lake/planyourvisit/hike.htm.

Public workshop on landfill brings little concerns

The Southern Nevada Health District held a public workshop Tuesday to give Boulder City residents a chance to express their opinions on the city’s request to expand the Boulder City Landfill.

The workshop was a small affair with few participants giving public comment.

Former Boulder City Mayor Eric Lundgaard said he was worried a large storm might cause a trash runoff that could contaminate the Colorado River, which runs near the landfill.

Boulder City resident Gary Vesperman said expanding the landfill would not benefit the environment.

“Expanding the landfill is just a short-term solution to a long-term problem,” Vesperman said. “I have a problem with just dumping the trash when we could be processing it.”

The city is looking to expand the landfill by 60 acres, making the area a total of 160 square acres.

According to the Boulder City Public Works Department, the landfill deals with 22,000 tons of solid waste per year.

Public Works Director Scott Hansen said he does not expect the amount of disposable waste to increase if the expansion was approved.

The Southern Nevada Health District will now consider comments made at the workshop to see if any concerns are valid and should be assessed by the city.