Transportation continues to be a key to the future growth and development in Southern Nevada.
That’s the message from Thursday’s breakfast program of the Southern Nevada chapter of NAIOP, which hosted “Fast Lane to the Future: Transportation, Infrastructure & Growth.”
The panel featured Asha Jones, vice president of public affairs for Brightline West, the high-speed rail project from Southern California to Las Vegas; David Swallow, deputy chief executive officer for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada; and Tracy Larkin Thomason, director of the Nevada Department of Transportation.
“We understand how much transportation drives our economic development, and we’re excited about the next phases of community development in that regard,” said James Bristow, managing member of Midnight Sun Consulting and moderator of the NAIOP program.
The $12 billion, high-speed rail project took center stage during the discussion. It will connect Las Vegas with a station across from the Las Vegas South Premium Outlets and end in Rancho Cucamonga with stops in Victorville and Hesperia and take about two hours. A Metrolink rail line will take people to downtown Los Angeles.
“I look at Brightline, and I get to travel along the alignment a lot and get to see what it means to us in Vegas to bring more tourists in and watch our sports teams,” Jones said.
Heavy construction is expected to start later this year for the project that has received a $3 billion grant from the Federal Railroad Administration and secured $2.5 billion in private activity bonds.
“We are a model of what high-speed rail can look like in the U.S.,” Jones said. “If you travel outside of the U.S. and have been on trains in Europe and Asia you know that high-speed rail can ease transportation, and that’s what we’re looking to do, and it’s definitely here.”
Jones, who said the tickets will cost about $100 each way and be completed in the fall of 2028, called the project unique since it’s a public and private partnership. The key has been the $3.5 billion from the federal government that became the base for the rest of its federal funding.
“Our project started under the first Trump Administration and we got all of the federal compliance and permits,” Jones said. “Then under the Biden Administration came in and allowed us to get the $3.5 billion grant, and now under the current administration we’ve done a good job of connecting with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. He spoke very highly of our project, publically, which we were excited to hear. They recognize this type of project is the beginning. People are supportive because they want to see where it goes. We’re in a good place right now and keep plugging along. We know times are difficult. We have a lot of bipartisan support, and we need it.”
Swallow talked about how funding has been critical for the RTC for its projects.
The RTC receives 9 cents of every gallon of gasoline purchased, and a voter-approved program ties motor vehicle fuel tax to inflation. Known as Fuel Revenue Indexing, it has been extended through 2026. Another ballot measure or act of the state Legislature is needed to extend it.
Since 2014, Swallow said $3 billion in roadway projects have been obligated to continue to help Southern Nevada grow, including providing some funding for the Interstate 11 project from the Arizona border to Las Vegas.
“The 10-year program will end after next year unless there is a ballot measure or legislative action to enable it to go forward,” Swallow said. “It’s critically important to have that funding for the projects we need to do. We all agree we need to sustain our roadways.”
Some 18.4 cents for every gallon of gasoline sold goes to Washington, D.C. in tax revenue, and Swallow said it’s their job to get it back for projects and leverage it for additional funding if possible, including the refreshing of Maryland Parkway.
Thomason cited the importance of transportation projects for the region, citing the I-11 project and widening of Interstate 15.
“You guys are ready to explode again,” Thomason said. “You are back in major growth, and Nevada is like No. 5 in the nation for growth. People still want to come in. You have the north going up to Kyle Canyon and I-11 going up and I-15 up by Apex. We have growth going out in Pahrump. We’re finally finishing the Tropicana Avenue bridge. We’re also finishing the I-15 south from Sloan to the state line working in conjunction with Brightline. We’re trying to manage the growth and ensure the transportation system in the future is a functioning one and one for a long time. The I-15 and U.S. Highway 95 and I-11 are our lifelines, and we can’t afford to do it wrong.”
Thomason said funding is their “favorite F word,” and called it a struggle at this time. The federal government funding is 61 percent of its program.
“We’re not going to lie about it,” Thomason said. We’re building a 2025 transportation system on a 1993 budget. With the change in the administration, it highlights the fragility of it because there’s been a lot of uncertainty. It’s calming down and things are moving forward but bottom line in the last three years we have seen 68 percent in construction inflation, nationally. We have tracked a lot with our own projects and it was between 58 percent and 60 percent. That means less projects going out. We cancelled almost all state projects this year. We are still on track for a number of big ones. We always survive. I’ve been through a number of recessions. Nevada is a resilient state, but we’re going through another one of those cycles right now.”
Thomason said the Tropicana Avenue bridge project at the I-15 will end by August and September. Studies are underway looking at development from Sloan to the state line and what impact that has on the transportation system.
The planned Ivanpah airport at the state line would have related development, and a network needs to be developed that doesn’t dump all the traffic on I-15 but has a connecting network, Thomason said.
