LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas local Linda Hanley emailed Channel 13 after seeing something odd on the highway.
She asked me to employ my detective skills to find out what's the deal with an unusual structure she said looked like a rocket or an alien spacecraft.
Well Linda, it's not quite that interesting, or should I say, out of this world— but it is something many of us are paying for.
Linda and her husband have a second home in the peaceful setting of Eagle Valley— that's in Lincoln County about three hours north of Las Vegas near Pioche.
On their frequent drives to the area, they kept seeing a strange structure in various stages of construction. It sits right past Love's Travel Stop after you turn left from I-15 onto US-93 North.
It started out looking a little weird, like something Elon Musk would design. Then as it got farther along, it really looked like a rocket. Definitely unusual.
When Linda asked me what's the deal, I first reached out to Clark County and was re-directed to the City of North Las Vegas. A spokesperson in their Economic Development and Utilities department told me Linda's mystery structure is an elevated water tank currently under construction near the Apex Industrial Complex.
That made me wonder what it's for, how much it costs, and who's paying for it? So, I asked those questions and here's what I learned:
- The Apex Industrial Complex is being built before there's infrastructure in place to support it, so taxpayers will be footing the $13.5 million bill for the tank to fill that gap.
- North Las Vegas said the tank is necessary to provide water to current and future businesses at Apex as Southern Nevada Water Authority distribution will not be available out there until 2028.
- The city will utilize existing well water to fill the tank.
North Las Vegas said the added storage capacity will service construction, consumption and fire protection in the surrounding area, adding that Apex is projected to create approximately 70,000 jobs and $7B of investment, and is already home to several Fortune 500 companies, including Crocs and Kroger.