The Boulder City City Council unanimously approved the Nevada Way Reconstruction project during its June 10 meeting.
According to Public Works Director Gary Poindexter, GCW Engineering, Inc. provided the design and Unicon Contracting was selected as the general contractor. The bid was originally awarded for slightly more than $2.6M
The plan, known as Option 2A, was a plan Council appeared to pull away from in the past. The plan alters the southern end of the street to feature parallel parking. Currently, the street is configured so that parking is comprised of 45-degree head in parking spaces.
Additionally, the plan calls for widening the sidewalks on both ends of the street. The area will continue to feature a section known as “Restaurant Row” that will be reserved for outdoor dining spaces.
Parking spaces on Wyoming Street are to be altered from parallel parking to head-in to make room for lost spaces due to the reconfiguration of Nevada Way. Overall, the reconfiguration efforts will lead to an increase in parking spaces from 106 to 135. Many of these parking spots, however, are to be motorcycle spaces.
This project started as the City of Boulder City accepted funding from the Regional Transportation Commission’s Complete Streets programin May of 2022. The funding was awarded to provide the City with the resources to put its sidewalks into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Altering the layout ran into issues with local business owners, as the owners did not want the City to remove space utilized for outdoor seating in Restaurant Row. Furthermore, the utilities that run beneath Nevada Way are in dire need of repair.
While the City is replacing the 23-year-old asphalt in the area, construction crews will also be able to replace the underground utilities.
Eighteen water services components in the area meet current standards. The City is planning to install an additional 21 backflow-prevention devices and two mainline water valves during construction.
The Complete Streets program stipulates that once the ground has been cut into, areas that receive its funding are not to be worked on for a minimum of five years.
According to the City’s website, City staff held more than two dozen public outreach meetings. It also notes construction will be conducted in a way to allow businesses to remain open during the process.
Construction crews are expected to break ground on July 7 and continue construction until September.