Assemblyman Joe Hardy, R-Boulder City, said he'll push for state authority to build toll roads during next year's legislative session, which he says is a necessary step if the Boulder City Bypass is to be built.
Last week, the legislative subcommittee to study transportation voted against drafting a bill to authorize Nevada Department of Transportation to built toll roads or bridges.
The committee, headed by Sen. Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, voted 3-3 to move forward with toll booths on state and county highway and road projects. Without clear majority, the measure failed.
Hardy said he would propose a bill to allow tolling on Nevada roads in the 2009 Legislature. It is currently against Nevada law to build toll roads.
The 2007 Legislature failed to pass a measure legalizing the public-private partnerships that would allow non-government agencies to build roads and charge for crossing them. Such partnerships have been proposed as a solution to limited federal funds for new roads.
In 2010, the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge will send more than 2,000 trucks through Boulder City daily. Since 2001, the trucks have been routed through Laughlin.
Boulder City officials have advocated building the proposed Boulder City Bypass, from about the Hacienda south of town to U.S. 93 at Railroad Pass, allowing vehicles to skip driving through Boulder City on Nevada Highway.
The road, estimated to cost more than $400 million, has passed environmental studies, and Congress has allocated about $30 million to lay the groundwork for Phase 1, the portion between Railroad Pass and U.S. 95.
The state Department of Transportation estimates that, given state funding for roads, it will be 2025 before the bypass is built.
The DOT is not considering a toll road an option for the Boulder City Bypass. It is interested, however, in turning the express lanes on Interstate 15 between Russell and Craig Roads into managed lanes that charge tolls, spokesman Scott Magruder said.
He said one lane each way would cost motorists an undecided amount, but there would be no tolling stations. A sensor in a car and cameras on the freeway would monitor who pays, he said.
Magruder said he fully expects two bills to be introduced in next year's session — one to legalize toll roads and another to legalize the cameras to monitor who uses the paid freeway lanes.
Assemblyman John Oceguera, D-North Las Vegas, who voted against a bill, said he thinks toll roads are a "double tax," charging citizens after they have already paid for road construction.
Oceguera did say he is open to new toll roads, as the bypass would be.
"I would be willing to look at a toll road if someone is coming in and building it and then charging. That type of public-private partnership is good," he said.
Hardy said trucking agencies, which have traditionally opposed toll roads, might not mind paying nominal fees for convenience, "if it's a new road or a new lane that makes their ride shorter, easier and more efficient."
Also, he said, truck drivers won't want to stop at Boulder City's stoplights or slow down after coming up the hill into town on U.S. 93 from Hemenway Valley.
He said in making laws, the focus shouldn't be on the toll, but on the partnership, which would provide needed funds for roads.
"If we're waiting for some great infusion of cash into our state budget or into the federal funding of roads, I think we're going to be disappointed," he said. "In as much as there is private money out there willing to invest in roads, I think the concept it still good.
"Everybody knows if you have a bypass around, you can still drive through Boulder City, and you don't have to pay if you don't want to," he said.
Hardy said if a bill is approved and a private road builder for the Boulder City Bypass were found, at best, the Legislature wouldn't be able to approve the bypass for another three years, and it wouldn't be constructed for five.
"And that may be optimistic," he said.
Mayor Roger Tobler said though the state Department of Transportation wasn't advocating a toll road for the Boulder City Bypass, he believes it is necessary.
"Tolling is, I think, going to have to be at least a portion of our road — unless the state all of a sudden approves lots of bonding for all the traffic projects and our gets approved," he said. "No one seems to be willing to address the fact that our transportation and roadways need to continue. They're just saying we don't have the money and allowing areas to grow but not providing sufficient roadways."
Cassie Tomlin can be reached at 948-2073 or [email protected].
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