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Major improvements coming to Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas

Posted at 11:49 PM, Oct 07, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-08 09:05:14-04

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Work began Monday on major improvements to Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas.

Gena Kendall is a city traffic engineer. She said it was time to make some upgrades to the popular area.

"Fremont Street is a real hot location with tourists and locals,” said Kendall.

And once those visitors and locals park their cars, they spend a lot of time walking. Kendall said Fremont Street was already scheduled for pavement maintenance this year, but the city saw an opportunity to move forward with some changes they hope will improve pedestrian safety.

"Pedestrian safety is always a huge concern to us and we want to do everything we can to make people feel safe out here,” said Kendall. “Improve the visibility of them. So, they are not hit by a vehicle"

Besides repaving, sidewalks will also be widened. This will require the removal of some taxi-loading areas and the center medians. But removing those medians means some landmark neon signs will be rehabbed and moved; notably the slipper and martini glass.

Other improvements include storm drain and sewer upgrades, street lighting work, and improvement to traffic signals.

Of course, this means some temporary traffic trouble. There will be some lane restrictions along Fremont between Las Vegas Boulevard and 14th Street during the day.

"It's part of growth. It means that we are making improvements,” said Kendall. “And we are going to do everything we can so that people aren't inconvenienced too much and provide very clear detours and just do everything we can to make sure that people can get around safely."

The project is scheduled to be finished by August of 2020.