Two Nevada Department of Transportation engineers toured problem traffic areas in Pahrump Tuesday, escorted by a couple of members of the Pahrump Capital Improvements Plan Committee.

During a follow-up meeting that afternoon, different solutions were suggested. Committee member Mark Kimball even inquired about installing roundabouts where Highway 372 intersects with Pahrump Valley Boulevard and Blagg Road.

NDOT Assistant District Engineer Mohamed Said Rouas said he would have to look at information like accident data and traffic volumes. He said money for roundabouts comes out of a separate safety fund, but it would still take about three years to build.

The idea of a roundabout was suggested by NDOT officials for Homestead Road and Highway 160. It was rejected during a public hearing in 2006.

Kimball said Nye County spent $850,000 on getting the temporary traffic light installed at that intersection and will spend another $800,000 getting a permanent signal.

Rouas told committee member Pablo Encinias the county couldn't expect NDOT to increase its contribution of $450,000 to the permanent Homestead Road traffic light with the budget situation.

He added that NDOT would also refuse to purchase right-of-way for a roundabout.

Acting Public Works Director Dave Fanning said Nye County still has to acquire an additional 15 feet of right-of-way on both sides of that intersection, some of it from property of The Kingdom nightclub.

Rouas said NDOT tries to assess fair market value in buying right-of-way. "The last resort is eminent domain," he said.

NDOT Traffic Engineer John Roberts said he began a study on Highway 160 north of Basin Avenue using a roadway safety audit team that could lead to widening the road.

"I started a five-year crash history and I'm crunching the numbers on Basin north to Highway 95," Roberts said.

"The problem up there is you don't have a lot of pavement to drive on. There's no left turn pockets and not much shoulder," he said.

Roberts said more traffic lights aren't the end to the accidents as there are more rear-end collisions. But Sheriff Tony DeMeo pointed out there haven't been any accidents at Homestead Road and Highway 160 since the traffic light was activated there in July 2008.

"The traffic light on Homestead has proven to be a significant impact for safety at that intersection," DeMeo said.

Kimball asked NDOT to limit traffic on Wilson Road and Oxbow Avenue approaching Highway 160 to a right turn only.

DeMeo said there should be a traffic control device to encourage that, but it would be difficult to enforce. "You'd be creating criminals because they'd be making left turn lanes anyway," he said.

He added it would make a long detour for motorists wanting to turn north onto Highway 160 from Wilson Road.

Fanning said when the Carl's Jr. fast food restaurant is completed, it will have a private turnout onto Highway 160 just north of Wilson Road similar to the turnout south of it in front of Wells Fargo Bank.

Committee members scheduled two workshops to gather input from the public on a matrix being developed to determine the highest priorities for using impact fee money designated for traffic improvements. They scheduled workshops from 10 a.m. to noon on Dec. 8 and 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 12, 2010.

Planner Kyle Walton said he is incorporating a lot of data, including the average daily traffic estimated for projects already approved. For instance, the federal detention center is estimated to be likely to generate 526 daily trips.

When it comes to valleywide improvements, Fanning said some segments of road in Pahrump are already of poor quality and may soon be reclassified as a failed condition.

"The road system we currently have here is 40 to 45 years old," Fanning said.

While there are occasional seal-coats, he added, "You're looking at an old deteriorating system that really needs support."