The long-awaited Interstate 11 makes it faster for road travel between Nevada and Arizona. But the road, also known as the Boulder City Bypass, is to blame for the traffic at some Boulder City businesses to slump.
Take Alpaca Imports, where owner Kevin Devine says the bypass caused his business to drop 60 percent in three weeks. So in early September, about one month after the interstate opened, Devine moved his store to the Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas in Primm.
“It just went from bad to worse,” Devine said. “I was prepared for it though. I had done my due diligence and had been to all the meetings and heard what the city was going to do and wasn’t going to do.”
Ahead of the interstate opening, the city initiated marketing campaigns to get more visitors into town, and there are plans to expand the railroad museum and beautify the highway, but currently traffic being diverted away from Nevada Way still poses an issue for residents.
“You can’t take that much traffic and divert it and have it not affect the bottom line,” Devine said. “It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out. I love Boulder City and I wish everybody nothing but success and greatness.”
Jill Lagan, CEO of the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce, said there has been unexpected challenges in the first 45 days since the road has opened, citing accidents, road closures, issues on the Hoover Dam bridge and a delayed response in updating GPS mapping systems.
“Many businesses are grateful for the release of traffic congestion from the BC Parkway and have found guests coming into town are very much stopping in their locations now that it is easier to pull into their driveways from the parkway,” Lagan said. “Others along the parkway that counted on sheer volume have some concerns right now.”
Lagan said the Chamber of Commerce has put grant dollars toward new events that will hopefully attract more people to Boulder City. And more than a year ago, the Boulder City Think Tank was created so the community could convene and discuss the city’s economic health.
“It is the most effective volunteer effort the chamber has seen in years,” Lagan said. “Everyone is working toward the end goal of building Boulder City into an attractive destination.”
Jill Bunch, owner of Chilly Jilly’z, says the bypass has had a mixed impact on her business, but, ultimately, she thinks it will have a positive effect.
“During the week we’re a little slower at lunch, but in general we’re overall doing better because people can get here easier,” Bunch says. “We have a lot more customers coming from Henderson, Wagon Wheel and Horizon, and it allows more free flow, even for the local people who live in Boulder City.”
Faye Simak, owner of Bella Marketplace, agrees.
“People that were coming into town to shop and enjoy Boulder City’s dining and other great stores would get stuck behind trucks and all that traffic,” Simak said. “Now that the bypass is in, they can make it to town much easier. We see the bypass is a good thing — we’re excited about it.”
Southwest Diner owner Cindy Ford says her restaurant, which she’s operated for 27 years, is doing “OK” but that business is “down about 10 percent.”
“The Chamber [of Commerce] is helping — the city isn’t really,” Ford said. “The chamber has done a lot of footwork trying to get more advertising toward Boulder City, and I don’t feel that [the city] has done that.”
Ultimately, there are mixed reactions, but residents overall seem hopeful. “I believe it’ll get better,” Ford adds.
The chamber is also working with transportation company National Park Express to develop a shuttle service from Las Vegas to Boulder City, Lagan said.
“For those businesses that do have trepidation regarding the reduction of vehicles into town, we will work very hard to continue to find new avenues and niches to market to,” she added. “We will continue to co-op and collaborate in order to strengthen and leverage our current and future advertising dollars individually and as a collective whole.”