Snow Mountain Interchange

"My very first project as a full fledged designer was the Snow Mountain Interchange located on the Paiute Reservation about 15 miles northwest of Vegas."

Tracy Larkin-Thomason
 10 Sep 2001

[Uncle Brian asked about what looks like a cactus in the picture.] "Joshua trees are a protected species native to this area (and other areas in the southwest). They were incorporated into the design. 

I must point out an architect Charles Schiffner (out of Phoenix) was hired to design the pattern that you see on the structure. The interchange is a typical diamond interchange. I cannot take credit for someone else's work. 

I will take credit for the details that made it work. Some of my biggest challenges on that project was dealing with the Pauite Indian Nation. Tribal land is considered land of another nation. Regular agreement language and other legal considerations did not apply. Considerations needed to be made for future maintenance of the interchange like extra moldings for the designs and rail, graffiti proof paint, extra paint to match the existing colors. It was a neat project that brought me a great deal of satisfaction."

Motorists can admire roadworks of art Making freeways attractive will add to costs though

By MICHAEL SQUIRES REVIEW-JOURNAL

With the recent opening of the newest segment of the Las Vegas Beltway from Tropicana Avenue to Sahara Avenue, motorists glimpsed what some hope is the future of public works projects in the Las Vegas Valley.

The roadway's bridges at Sahara Avenue, Desert Inn Road, Hualapai Way and Town Center Drive are adorned with replicas of Paiute petroglyphs, painted to mirror the browns and reds of the surrounding desert.

"It's our hope that people will now begin to care about how public works projects look, as well as their design," said Jeff Rhoads, director of advanced planning for Howard Hughes Corp., which paid for the artwork on the bridges.

Las Vegas City Councilman Michael Mack was among the many impressed by the bridges, which were inspired by the 5-year-old Snow Mountain Interchange on U.S. Highway 95 at the Las Vegas Paiute Indian Reservation.

"It sure looks appealing," Mack said. "As an entrance and exit to our communities ... I think there has to be something better than just a sound wall."

Efforts to improve the appearance of Nevada's roadways seems to be gaining momentum. In addition to the Snow Mountain Interchange and Howard Hughes' contribution, the Nevada Department of Transportation has formed a landscape and aesthetic advisory committee to examine upgrading the appearance of Nevada's roadways.

Mack is co-chair of the committee, led by Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa.

Las Vegas arts commissioner Katherine Duncan, also a committee member, said there is a great need to improve the appearance of freeways in the Las Vegas Valley.

"I now live in a community completely surrounded by highways and most of them are deplorable," she said. "What we're trying to do is make them so they don't turn communities into negative areas to live."

The main obstacle to these improvements will be money, according to several committee members.

"The fact of the matter is NDOT doesn't have a dime for landscaping," said Leni Skaar, a liaison for Mack and member of a subcommittee that will outline the objectives of the state's landscaping committee.

Art and landscaping won't be cheap.

The artwork on each of the new beltway bridges cost Howard Hughes between $80,000 and $100,000.

The enhancements were put to bid separately from the rest of the project and as a result cost more than they would have if they had been included in the original proposal.

Rhoads estimates enhancements like those on the beltway bridges should cost about 5 percent of the project's total cost. That does not include the cost of maintaining landscaping and other improvements.

"The installation is the small part of the cost," Skaar said. "It's taking care of it for the next 20 years that's going to be the vast majority of the cost. Will people be willing to pay to maintain it?"

One idea being considered is using corporate sponsorship to pay for the improvements. The transportation department recently began covering maintenance costs on Interstate 15 through a sponsorship program.

"I know the gaming companies would like to have the freeways look more aesthetically pleasing," Mack said.

During initial meetings, the committee learned there is the possibility of using Federal Highway Administration funds for landscaping.

"I think that it comes down to whether or not it is valued by the community," Rhoads said. "If we value that sufficiently here, then we will be willing to pay for it."

Another issue the committee will face is choosing between landscaping and art. Most committee members from Southern Nevada think artistic enhancements fit the needs of a desert environment more than planting trees, which require water and other maintenance.

"My first goal is to have the mind-set of the people change when they think of landscape, so they don't automatically think of trees," Duncan said. "I would love to see art and have the funding set aside for that."

Damon Ohlerking, urban designer for Boulder City and a committee member, favors the use of trees to improve the appearance of Southern Nevada's roadways.

"What's the thing that's missing most from the urban areas of Nevada? It's trees," he said. "The more we plant, the better it's going to be to live in Nevada."

He doesn't think planting trees will prevent art from being included in improvements.

"The art will come," he said. "It's not a matter of either-or; it's a matter of both."

Rhoads is optimistic that the appearance of public works will improve and thinks it is a sign that the community is coming of age.

"In certain respects it's about how Las Vegas is maturing as an urban area," he said. "This is about it maturing into a more culturally minded metro area."

This story is located at: http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2000/Dec-30-Sat-2000/news/15022505.html