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9:58:00 PM PDT
Toll Road From Los Angeles To Las Vegas
We've talked about the various possibilities of new rail travel between Southern California and Las Vegas, but what about a toll road for those willing to pay? You can find relatively cheap airfares between the Los Angeles area and Las Vegas, but the reality is that Southern Californians generally don't play their Las Vegas trips like those living farther away. They get the bug and say "let's go."
And unlike Las Vegas, most in Southern California work Monday through Friday. Which means Friday and Sunday nights, the trip back and forth can be almost bumper-to-bumper much of the way. A new proposal is in the works. We'll quote from this article:
Anyone who has driven on highway 15 knows how bad traffic can get. Now the state has hired a consultant to study putting a toll express lane on the 15. It could run all the way to some California cities.
With all the expensive cars on the freeway, its clear some could afford to pay for an express toll lane. But what about businesses? "I haul cars for a living, I am in the auto transport business," Randy Southwick, a regular commuter, says.
Tolls are nothing new to Randy Southwick. He drives through regularly delivering cars. "I have spent $20 driving through tolls before and that's both ways, sometimes I spend $40 in some parts of the country," he says. He thinks tolls are a great way to relieve congestion.
The article later notes that tolls can't be put on interstate highways like I-15 which are already built and established. (Yes, we know that many of you in other parts of the country drive on toll interstate highways ... bummer for you. Your state legislature probably approved it at the building stage the pay for the state's contribution. And let's face it, once a toll is on anything, it is rarely removed).
However, that doesn't completely kill the issue. Many parts of the "old road" (Highway 91 and Highway 66 [Route 66] still run between both cities. In some areas as a basically unused two-lane road, in other areas as abandoned road grade open to 4-wheel drive type vehicles. Those could be reclaimed in some areas, providing the extra capacity and other connector stretches of road could be built. In fact, the road could be designed to be a one-way road to Las Vegas on Fridays, and a one-way road away from Las Vegas on Sundays, with it simple serving as a two-way road the rest of the time.
Interesting concept? Yes. But with gasoline generally rising (it is down for the moment, but the bottom line is that world demand is up and the supply is finite), and the fact that people enjoy flying into Las Vegas (allowing them to get the party started early with no worries), improved rail travel should still be the area of focus. If you can get on a train in Southern California, have a cocktail, kick back, and be in Las Vegas 4-5 hours later without driving or fighting traffic, that would sell. Big time.
Recent Las Vegas related blog posts by Ted Newkirk:- "WaterWorld" Comes To Las Vegas... Will It Have More Luck?
- Why The Hell Do We Need A New Arena?
- Harrahs Getting Bought Out, Las Vegas Condo Hotels Good For Visitors?
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