BEATTY -- A temporary traffic light at Homestead Road and Highway 160 could finally be completed by the end of June, Nye County Road Foreman Dave Fanning told commissioners Tuesday.

The county commission accepted a $528,784 bid from Las Vegas Electric, the lowest of two bidders to construct the temporary light.

Commissioners will take the money from impact fee revenue charged for developers in Pahrump, as there isn't enough money in a fund from the payment equal to taxes from the U.S. Department of Energy in this years budget, Assistant County Manager Pam Webster said.

Las Vegas Electric will be given a notice to proceed, they will then be receiving a list of subcontractors, Fanning said.

"As soon as this contract is awarded and everybody is lined up, it has 60 days to be completed," Fanning told commissioners. "So it could be completed by the end of June."

Nye County Commissioner Gary Hollis, almost in disbelief, remarked, "Is that this year, '08?"

The temporary traffic light will go up since it's unknown how long it will take for a permanent one.

The Nevada Department of Transportation initially suggested a roundabout for that intersection back in 2006, a suggestion loudly rejected by Pahrump residents.

Last February, Nye County Public Works Director Samson Yao estimated the temporary light could be completed by the end of May, after submitting final drawings to the Nevada Department of Transportation.

At that time Yao said Nye County will be able to recover all but $154,000 of the cost of constructing the temporary traffic light for the construction of a permanent traffic light. The light itself, control box and other hardware is reusable in a permanent light, he said.

The state estimated the cost of building a permanent traffic signal at $1.4 million back in 2006. NDOT will chip in $450,000 for the permanent signal.

In May 2007, NDOT Assistant Director Rudy Malfabon estimated a temporary traffic light could be constructed within three months.

But in July, 2007 Yao informed county commissioners it would be another six to eight months.

"I have never had the intention to stall anything," Yao said. "My hand is tied because of the approval process. We had to make NDOT happy because after all it is their safety issue, their liability for the traffic light. They look at it very cautiously."

NDOT Traffic Engineer Kent Sears told Nye County Commissioners Wednesday 40 percent of accidents occur at intersections and driveways. He stressed the need for proper roadway management, with proper spacing between access points to Highway 160.

"One of the reasons NDOT is so picky about where we put signals, every time you put up a signal you're going to increase accidents," Sears said, in particular rear-end collisions from motorists stopped at the traffic light.

"We have to be real careful where we put signals because sometimes they create more problems than they resolve," he said.

NDOT bases a decision to install a traffic light based on what they call traffic warrants -- which takes into account traffic counts, accidents and other data -- and a cost-benefit analysis, Sears said.

But sometimes it just comes down to plain money, Sears said during an interview after the meeting.

"In Las Vegas you got a lot of development paying 100 percent of the cost of the signals and then they get additional funding through the RTC (regional transportation commission)," he said.

"We have to pay attention to the whole state," Sears said. He indicated the limited pool of state money has shrunk even further with the current budget shortfall.