Posted: Jun 07, 2011 / 02:10 PM PDT  

Legislature Approves Boulder City Bypass Toll Road

BOULDER CITY, Nev. -- Boulder City could be the first and only place in Nevada with a toll road. State leaders voted and approved a bill that supports a toll road bypassing the area.

The bill also says 50 percent of the workers on this project must have a Nevada drivers' license.

The Regional Transportation Commission has not established a timeline for pursuing the public-private partnership. But the buzz is already flowing through Boulder City about the road. The mayor says it is much needed.

Six months ago, 8 News NOW met Stuart Litjens of BoulderBoats.com. The traffic back up at the time was a headache for businesses like his and many others.

"It's very frustrating," he said. "It's changed our whole quality of life here. The way we get around town has been severely altered."

Fast forward to today, he says traffic isn't as bad as it was a few months ago but the challenges are still there.

"For the businesses that are here that rely on that drive-through traffic like the restaurants and gas stations and a lot of tourist-based businesses, it can have an impact on them," said Litjens.

The approval of the state's first and only toll road will make living and working in Boulder City less hectic.

"I've had people tell me they don't leave their homes during certain times of the day. So they are almost held captive down there," said Boulder City Mayor Roger Tobler.

Mayor Tobler says it is still to early to say when construction will start, but he knows of three companies who are interested in financing the job.

"There is no public money, but there is private and that's what the state needs to look at when you are in a budget crunch and you don't have the resources. You can't get behind the ball with transportation projects," he said.

Litjens says there is a slight concern the toll road bypass may take tourists away from Boulder City. But if it means fewer big rig trucks in town, he's not too worried.

"So long as we maintain lake traffic and Boulder City as a destination for the lake traffic, I think it won't be an issue," he said.

The RTC says it's way to early to know the price of the toll road or how it will operate -- with passes or decals for drivers.

Mayor Tobler says ideally the road will bypass Boulder City, go around the southern part of town and connect with US-95.