City outlines East Las Vegas roadway, transit and stormwater projects; training center planned at Desert Pines site

City of Las Vegas public-works staff presented an overview of planned and ongoing transportation, drainage and maintenance projects in the East Las Vegas Special Area Plan, emphasizing bus-stop upgrades, corridor redesigns and a proposed workforce training facility at the Desert Pines golf course site.

The presentation was given by Joseph (transcribed as Norby/Torrey), identified in the meeting as City Traffic Engineer and Deputy Public Works Director, with Rosa Cortez, City Engineer and Deputy Public Works Director, available to answer technical questions. Joseph said the Eastern Avenue bus-turnout project is “a $4,200,000 investment” and that the city hopes “to have [it] wrapped up and completed by September of this year.”

The projects described are part of the East Las Vegas area plan boundary roughly bounded by Owens (north), Nellis (east), Charleston (south) and Maryland/Fremont (west). Public-works staff said the area contains roughly 38 centerline miles of roadway, 53 traffic signals, more than 8,500 street signs, about 5,000 street lights, 34 city facilities, roughly 33 miles of sanitary sewer collection lines and about 67 miles of storm-drain systems — figures staff presented as the assets the department operates and maintains within the planning boundary.

Why it matters: the projects mix safety, transit and neighborhood infrastructure and include both city-led work and coordination with regional agencies; several items are federally funded or subject to external approvals, which will affect timing and scope.

Key projects and timelines

- Eastern Avenue bus turnouts: Under construction between Washington and Sahara, the project adds eight bus-station improvements and, in places, right-turn pockets to improve traffic flow. Staff said the project budget is $4.2 million and the target completion date is September 2025.

- Stewart Avenue corridor: Staff said the Stewart Avenue redesign is approximately 30% designed and aims to improve mobility with wider sidewalks, dedicated separated bike lanes, lower speed limits, banners, lighting, landscaping and intersection technology. Joseph said staff is working toward 90% design within about a year and that construction is anticipated in FY27; he added the project is federally funded for construction, which carries schedule constraints.

- Owens Avenue storm-drain and sewer upgrades: Described as a multi-phase regional project that will improve flood-control facilities and sanitary sewer capacity; coordination with North Las Vegas and Clark County was noted because those jurisdictions share parts of the roadway and maintenance responsibilities.

- Bruce Street design: A federally funded design project planned for FY26 to improve sidewalks, trees, lighting and pedestrian crossings between Bonanza and Owens.

- Regional transit corridor (RTC): Staff described ongoing work with the Regional Transportation Commission on a high-capacity transit corridor (a bus rapid transit corridor) along Maryland Parkway and related routes; the city is participating in alternatives analysis because corridor changes affect local signals, lighting and roadway capacity.

- Safe Streets for All (SS4A) demonstration: Staff said the city is pursuing federal SS4A funding for a five-year demonstration of pedestrian, school-crossing and lighting improvements in the neighborhood revitalization area identified in the East Las Vegas plan.

- Bonanza Corridor / NDOT: The city is pursuing highway-safety improvement funds with the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) for safety and aesthetic upgrades on Bonanza after NDOT delayed its downtown access project.

- Pavement preservation: A maintenance project in the design phase covering about 11 roadway segments; staff said these would include mill-and-overlay work and spot safety improvements near schools and signalized intersections.

- Eastside Education and Training Center: Staff described a proposed 15,000-square-foot training facility at the Desert Pines golf course site, to be developed in partnership with the College of Southern Nevada (CSN). The facility would include a health lab, conference rooms, computer labs, offices and vocational classrooms for manufacturing, construction and welding.

Questions and community concerns

Committee members asked about pavement life (staff said 20 years is a common design target but actual life varies and many preservation projects are mill-and-overlay), the schedule to progress Stewart Avenue to 90% design, and whether the proposed training facility would displace the golf course. When asked if the golf course would be removed, staff responded at a high level that the city is “working on plans of redeveloping the golf course into some other multi-use facilities to help support the East Las Vegas community” and did not provide a final decision on golf operations or driving-range retention.

Votes at a glance

The committee approved the final minutes of the Jan. 28, 2025 regular meeting by voice vote; the motion was seconded and the clerk recorded that the motion carried. The motion text was to approve the final minutes by reference; mover and seconder were not specified on the record.

What happens next

Staff said design milestones and federal funding timelines will guide construction schedules; the Stewart Avenue corridor is expected to reach 90% design within roughly a year with construction targeted for FY27, and Bruce Street design is slated to begin in late FY26. Staff asked committee members to continue reporting observations from site visits to help finalize project boundaries and design details.

Sources: presentation remarks by Joseph (Norby/Torrey), City Traffic Engineer and Deputy Public Works Director; Rosa Cortez, City Engineer and Deputy Public Works Director; committee questions and staff responses.