U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg began a three-day trip to Nevada on Monday to break ground on a new $378 million transportation project in Las Vegas – the largest single investment in public transportation the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) has ever received.
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the RTC $149 million to improve public transportation along a 12-mile stretch of the Maryland Parkway from the South Transit Terminal to the Medical District, an area home to about 63,000 people.
This funding, secured through the bipartisan infrastructure bill, will rebuild 7 miles of the Parkway’s bus route – reducing the number of lanes from three to two, with dedicated shared bus and bike lanes, while creating 42 bus shelters, widening sidewalks, and improving lighting. The expanded bus service is expected to operate 24/7 and include 15 hydrogen-powered electric buses, funded through another federal grant.
“We’re saving people money. We’re saving people time and we’re connecting this community better,” Buttigieg said in an interview with The Nevada Independent“Even if you don’t use this new rapid transit system, you’re better off.”
Monday’s visit was the start of a three-day trip to Nevada for Buttigieg. On Tuesday, he traveled to Reno to announce the start of construction to replace a nearly 100-year-old bridge on Arlington Avenue, and on Wednesday he will speak at the annual summit at Lake Tahoe. All of this is part of an effort by the Biden administration and Nevada Democrats to highlight the roughly $4 billion worth of infrastructure improvements the state is due after the passage of the infrastructure bill in 2021.
Read more: DC Download: How Nevada Democrats plan to use $2 billion from Biden’s infrastructure bill
The bus route along the Maryland Parkway currently carries 9,000 riders daily – the fourth highest ridership in Southern Nevada. After the planned infrastructure improvements, the RTC estimates ridership will increase to 13,300 daily and travel time for passengers will be reduced by about 20 percent. Nearly 30 percent of residents along the Maryland Parkway Corridor do not have access to a car, making this what Clark Country calls an area that is heavily dependent on public transit.
The project, expected to be completed in fall 2026, will support approximately 95,000 jobs. Nine local minority-owned firms will participate in the program through the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, said Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV), securing more than $31 million in contracts to benefit a Las Vegas neighborhood where poverty rates are as high as 35 percent.
“We need to make sure that everyone gets a fair chance to participate in the economic growth here. And that means we need to put money into places where there hasn’t been much investment in the past,” Buttigieg said.
Buttigieg last visited Nevada in April for the groundbreaking of a high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas to Southern California, led by Brightline West. The project, which has been in development for nearly 20 years, received a $3 billion grant from the Biden administration.
The Maryland Parkway project also aims to address climate issues by being the first RTC project with its own fleet of zero-emission vehicles, while also providing shade through new bus shelters and trees on sidewalks and in medians. Las Vegas is one of the fastest-warming cities in the country, and even at night, temperatures can remain dangerously hot.
In 2019, the RTC rejected the highly popular (but more expensive) proposal for a $1 billion light rail line to be built in place of expanded bus service.
State officials hope Brightline’s high-speed rail project — expected to be completed in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles — will help ease traffic congestion on Interstate 15.
Democratic members of Nevada’s congressional delegation, including Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Representatives Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Steven Horsford, joined Buttigieg in the ceremony at the Boulevard Mall.
“It’s important that we continue to recognize that this is an important corridor that needs to be renewed,” Cortez Masto said. “This is where people come together to work, meet, work and so on. That’s why we need to continue to invest in our communities.”
