LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — After my recent story about lighting upgrades coming to the Desert Inn Super Arterial tunnel underneath Las Vegas Boulevard, several viewers commented on Channel 13's social media posts and reached out to me to say that lighting improvements are needed in the Airport Connector tunnel, too.
One of those people was Jack from Las Vegas, who sent me this message:
- "The airport tunnel needs a lighting upgrade too. I'm a taxi driver here in town. I've witnessed and experienced a lot of dangerous situations in the airport tunnel due to low visibility. The tunnel is actually safer at night than it is during the day due to the insufficient lighting."
Jack's not alone. Local drivers I spoke with on Tuesday tell me they also see a lot of speeding and congestion while driving on the Airport Connector, too.
WATCH | Guy Tannenbaum details upgrades happening to the Airport Connector
"The speed limit is never enforced," said UNLV student Jacob Panning. "If you're going 35 miles per hour, you're practically getting run over. It's definitely a battle in there, but I've never had an incident, so knock on wood."
Those concerns are nothing new, and it turns out Clark County is about to start work on a project later this year to address them and to try and make part of the Airport Connector safer for drivers.
Back on Aug. 5, the Clark County Commission approved a two-year, $49.5 million project to improve a stretch of the northbound Airport Connector between the 215 Beltway and Sunset Road before the tunnel underneath the airport.
The main focus of the project will be widening the northbound Airport Connector from three to four lanes, as well as adding a brand new lane on the Sunset exit to the intersection of Sunset and Paradise Road, to try and reduce frequent congestion that builds up there during morning and evening commutes.
When it comes to lighting, the county crews will upgrade street and bridge lighting, which should — hopefully — improve visibility for us as we drive into the tunnel, which has been a big concern for many locals.
As far as lighting inside the tunnel, that's actually under the purview of the Clark County Department of Aviation, and unrelated to this project.
I reached out to an airport spokesperson to see if any improvements are planned for inside the Airport Connector tunnels, and they sent me this statement in response:
- "At this time, there are no additional airport-initiated projects scheduled for the Airport Connector tunnels, but if future projects do come up, we will provide updates as they become available."
As for what drivers think about more road work coming our way?
"I do hear the traffic cone is the state flower of Nevada, so another construction project is kind of expected, right?" Jacob Panning said with a chuckle. "Two years will kind of make it difficult for a while — especially with all the events going on — but I think in the long run it'll be beneficial."
Clark County officials tell me the tentative start date for the northbound Airport Connector project is set for Oct. 20.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about traffic or road construction around town, feel free to email me at Guy.Tannenbaum@ktnv.com.