LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Two new Vegas Loop tunnels are another step closer to being built out.
On Tuesday, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board members approved the tunnels, which will run underneath Paradise Road for approximately two miles down to UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center.
LVCVA's Chief Financial Officer, Ed Finger, said the new tunnels will be "crucial".
"They are not the most important lines in the system but they are crucially important as part of the system infrastructure that will move convention center traffic south and ultimately, to the airport. It will also serve as one of the multiple laterals to the main Strip line so the Strip isn't as congested," Finger explained. "Both tunnels will ultimately cross the Silver Lot. We'll have both an above-ground station that will connect to the Encore and and underground connectivity where you leave the central station and you go to the airport or other destinations."
LVCVA President Steve Hill said it will still take time before the new tunnels can make a dent in traffic troubles.
"The system has to grow throughout the city in order have really meaningful congestion relief. This leg will be a part of that and it will be helpful," Hill said. "The Virgin hotel is now going to be connected to the convention center. We're now connected to the Wynn and Encore and Resorts World and Westgate and it's right next to Fontainebleau. There will be 25,000 hotels rooms connected in that system in a year and a half. That will have an impact."
There are just a few hurdles left before construction on the new tunnels can begin.
"The Boring Company has a launch point that is just due west of the Thomas & Mack parking lot, next to a Dollar Rent-A-Car Center. You can go down there and see the two machines that are poised to get started," Hill said. "Right now, they're just waiting on finalizing the building permit through the building department at the county in order to start those two tunnels."
The only board member to vote against the new tunnels was Mayor Carolyn Goodman. She has previously voiced concerns about the project.
"It's operator-driven and is not on a rail and can't move as safely as we normally do. I find it's unsustainable," Goodman said last July. "Tunnels are one-way in each direction and they're 12 feet wide. If a car gets a flat, it backs up all the way. If we have a grid problem, if these go dark or the batteries have problems, I find there aren't enough exits involved."
Safety has been a concern after the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued eight safety citations and more than $112,000 in fines against The Boring Company.
According to OSHA, 15 to 20 workers were injured while working in the tunnel over the course of two months. However, The Boring Company is contesting all eight citations. A company called Jackson Lewis filed a notice of contest on The Boring Company's behalf.
"In addition to TBC's belief that Nevada OSHA has failed to establish that the alleged violations occurred, TBC contests all of the citations' classifications, required abatement, abatement deadlines, proposed penalties, and every other matter subject to contest," the notice reads in part.
Hill said The Boring Company contacted the LVCVA when the incidents happened last June.
"We looked at the incidents that caused those violations. In particular, the muck wall falling concerned us. We met in early August. We made it really clear to The Boring Company that it is important that this project be done correctly," Hill said. "We've also offered our help. Ruben White, who is our Director of Safety at the LVCVA, is an exceptional safety person. He's a former OSHA inspector. He was in charge of construction at Southwest Gas so he has a lot of experience in this area and so do I. We have offered our assistance. The Boring Company has been welcoming of that."
Meantime, county officials are also considering a proposal from the Las Vegas Raiders to have a Las Vegas Loop station at Allegiant Stadium. The catch? It would eliminate between 124 to 200 parking spaces.
According to documents filed with the county, the proposed station would be in Lot B, in the northeast corner of the site.
"The station will initially consist of a single boarding platform with the possibility to expand up to four boarding platforms," the documents state. "Cars will enter from an arrival portal on the east side of the lot, pass through the boarding area, and exit through a departure portal to the west of the boarding area in the central portion of the lot."
The Raiders state a parking analysis showed that even if all of their on-site parking spaces were used, there would still be 12,960 available off-site parking spaces that fans could use.
"While the overall reduction in on-site parking spaces is significant, the stadium is serviced by several modes of transportation such as taxis, rideshare services, RTC buses, pedestrian access, and private shuttles and limos that should supplement both on-site and off-site parking," the documents state in part. "While reliance on off-site parking is not ideal, a transition to alternative modes of transportation to the stadium has proven to be successful."
The Clark County Planning Commission is set to discuss the proposed Allegiant Stadium station at their meeting on Tuesday night.
