The Nevada Department of Transportation, while struggling with issues that most agencies are, such as existing commitments and funding for near term needs, the Nevada Department of Transportation has taken a leadership role in statewide and multistate corridor visioning & planning. The NDOT has taken the view when growth is slow, we have time to plan and discuss how we want to grow, when growth returns. The efforts lead by NDOT over the past few years have gone beyond traditional transportation boundaries in many ways such as coordinating across state boundaries and engaging nontraditional stakeholders into the earliest stages of long-range transportation planning. The agency is considering how transportation fits in a broader context.

These efforts include Connecting Nevada, which was launched to provide a comprehensive, statewide, multi-modal planning effort with the goal of improving communication and coordination among partner agencies, geographic areas, and planning efforts. The intent of the Connecting Nevada Plan is to develop a framework that coordinates and integrates the results of state, regional, and local planning efforts into a unified, cohesive vision. The Connecting Nevada Plan will guide decisions and investments in the future, establish policies and guidance for identification and preservation of transportation corridors, and recognize and encourage multi-modal opportunities.
In addition to this statewide effort, several multistate corridors are being studied.

The I-15 Corridor System Plan which included the creation of a 72 agency Alliance made up of public and private entities with varying expertise, to generate consensus on the top priorities and corridor-wide initiatives for the I-15 Corridor from San Diego through Salt Lake City. This included a consideration of not just highway needs, but all modes and the needs/impacts of the communities and resources along the way. Alliance partners have received several discretionary grants, in part due to the collaborative nature and the support of partners for efforts along the corridor, regardless of jurisdiction. A similar effort is currently under way on Interstate 80 from San Francisco, CA to Cheyenne, WY, again being lead by NDOT Planning staff.

The newly designated Interstate 11, between Las Vegas and Phoenix is currently under study by NDOT, in partnership with Arizona DOT. This effort will look at, not only the designated connection, but also the potential need for additional transportation infrastructure between Mexico and Canada. The study will evaluate how future changes in domestic and foreign trade might affect transportation demand in the Western U.S., particularly a demand for additional north-south corridors through Nevada.

Three NDOT Planning Project Managers will discuss how the agency is building partnerships and planning for the region’s future transportation needs by going beyond the boundaries of typical methods, topics and stakeholders.

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Instructors:

Leah Sirmin

Tim Mueller

Sondra Rosenberg

Coy Peacock

(10 Ratings)