News Briefs

Several road construction projects on tap at Lake Mead

Construction on roads leading to Katherine Landing in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area has begun to improve traffic flow. Katherine Spur Road, Davis Dam Road and parking lots leading to Lakes Mead and Lake will undergo a construction project worth $11.3 million.

According to Christie Vanover, public affairs director for the Park Service as Lake Mead, finding the funding to make improvements to those roads was the most difficult part. When the Federal Lands Transportation Program finally funded the project, everything was a go for the renovations.

A stop sign between Davis Dam and Katherine Spur roads will be removed to allow for easier traffic flow. Additionally, the lanes and shoulder on Katherine Spur Road will be widened a foot each to 12 feet and 2 feet, respectively.

Heavy rainfall last week also has damaged the roads to St. Thomas and Willow Beach, which will undergo repairs. According to Vanover, the first stage of cleanup is removing any debris along the roadways. The second phase is filling in any of the dirt that washed up from underneath the roads, a problem that occurs often with heavy rainfall.

The area around St. Thomas received an inch of rain, while the area round Willow Beach received 1.5 inches of rain.

St. Thomas Road will be closed for a week until repairs are made to the 5-foot drop that was discovered by work crews.