Red Rock Canyon Hosting Project Status Meeting

Las Vegas – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Red Rock/Sloan Field Office, in coordination with the Central Federal Lands Division of the Federal Highway Administration, is seeking feedback on the preliminary design and alternatives improvements to the 13-Mile Scenic Drive and parking lots at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

BLM will host meetings on December 10 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area visitor center classroom.  The meeting format will be an open house with displays and specialists to answer questions.  In addition, a short presentation will be given at 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Written comment forms will be available at the meeting. 

The proposed scenic drive improvements will also be posted on the BLM website at http://blm.gov/q3ld beginning December 15. Written comments may also be sent to m1spence@blm.gov through January 5, 2015.

The potential improvements along the 13-Mile Scenic Drive are intended to improve safety and traffic flow for vehicles, bicyclists, equestrians, and pedestrians; reduce operations and maintenance costs; protect and conserve the resources; and improve visitor experience in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. 

The potential improvements include rehabilitating the pavement along the 13-Mile Scenic Drive and improving parking at the following parking lots: Calico 1, Calico 2, Sandstone Quarry, White Rock, Willow Springs, Ice Box Canyon, Red Rock Wash, and Pine Creek Canyon.  The project will also look at options to improve a section of the road from the visitor center to Sandstone Quarry to two-way traffic as well as an option to construct a one-way return route from Sandstone Quarry to the visitor center.  The proposed improvements will be prioritized based on input from the public as well as available funding.

When participants enter the fee booth at the entrance of the 13-Mile Scenic Drive for the public meetings, they should tell the attendant that they are participating in the meetings and fees will be waived.

The public will also have additional opportunities to comment on the proposed project when the draft Environmental Assessment is released in Spring 2015.

Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.