Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Tropicana - Las Vegas Boulevard intersection
The Tropicana - Las Vegas Boulevard intersection in Las Vegas, Nevada (Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard, the latter also known as the "Las Vegas Strip" is noteworthy for several reasons. It was the first intersection completely closed to street level pedestrian traffic in Las Vegas and its four corners are home to four of the largest hotels in the world, including the largest, as of 2004, the MGM Grand with 5,044 rooms. The four corners have a total of 12,890 hotel rooms as of 2004.
Tropicana Avenue is also the main local street into the airport and the first major exit from I-15 to the Strip for traffic heading north from the Los Angeles, California area. The heavy local traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard, which is listed as a National Scenic Byway All-American Road, further adds to the number of vehicles in this area.
After much study, Clark County, Nevada decided that the only solution to reducing accidents at this intersection that would improve pedestrian traffic flow and vehicular traffic flow was to separate the vehicles and pedestrians.
Underground tunnels were considered, but being enclosed and underground posed extra security risks. So a solution of uncovered walkways over the streets, escalators and elevators was selected as the best solution.
An overhead pedestrian walkway was constructed across each of the streets near to where the crosswalks would normally have been located. Platforms at the ends of the walkways offer elevator or escalator access between the street and walkway level. The final step was to barricade the sidewalks from the roads in the vicinity of the intersection.
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