‘A complicated map’: Henderson candidates push Boulder Highway updates

With campaign season in full swing and Henderson’s Reimagine Boulder Highway project underway, Councilwoman Carrie Cox and mayoral candidate Hollie Chadwick have taken it upon themselves to spread awareness about the project’s roadwork and traffic disruptions.

The two told attendees during a town hall campaign event Wednesday in Cadence, a master-planned community in east Henderson near Boulder Highway, that they hope their social media updates will reach people who are unaware of official bulletins posted online by local officials and contractor Las Vegas Paving.

More than 70 percent of the contracted work on the $184 million project has been completed as of August, according to the city of Henderson’s website. Work on the project began in August 2024 and is expected to end in 2027.

The project will see a reduction in the number of traffic lanes from six to four, the widening of sidewalks, the addition of protected bike lanes and the creation of a center-running bus rapid transit system along the city’s 7.5-mile stretch of Boulder Highway from Wagonwheel Drive to Tulip Falls Drive.

“What we’re trying to do is make sure that we can help push those updates out to the community,” Chadwick, who is running against Mayor Michelle Romero, said at the Wednesday event. “One of the biggest things I think you would all want to know is if you’re trying to go to work or to the store, anything each morning, you probably want to know where the roadblocks are, where the heavy construction is, where the traffic jams are going to be.”

Chadwick continued: “We have roadways that need repair, not reimagining.”

Cox, who is facing re-election, and Chadwick, who was Henderson’s police chief from May 2023 until her firing in March 2025, both said at Wednesday’s event they were not criticizing city staff.

Cox, who was elected to the City Council in 2022, said at Wednesday’s event that the project was already moving forward when she was sworn in. Talks to improve Boulder Highway date back to 2002.

In 2020, the Regional Transportation Commission approved the Reimagine Boulder Highway study and the Henderson City Council adopted an investment strategy, which listed the Boulder Highway project as a top priority.

In 2024, Cox voted to approve construction contracts and to select contractors for the project. Before voting to approve the project, Cox brought up concerns about whether the planned lane reduction would affect traffic, according to previous Las Vegas Review-Journal reporting.

Updates on social media

In separate social media posts late last month, Cox and Chadwick announced plans they said would make construction updates more accessible and easier to understand.

“Whether you support the project or not, residents deserve clear, straightforward information about how construction is going to affect their daily lives,” Chadwick posted Sept. 29. “You shouldn’t have to decipher a complicated map just to figure out how to get home.”

Cox said after Wednesday’s event that the Boulder Highway construction is an issue she hears about regularly from constituents. Cox added that some residents feel the updates provided by the city or Las Vegas Paving are too technical.

“Sometimes we just need it broken down into small chunks, and what we are doing is just bringing that information together in a smaller way that allows them to have more ease in their commutes,” Cox said.

While the city reports online that, among other improvements, nearly 80,000 square feet of new sidewalk, 18,000 feet of new storm drain pipes and more than 100 new streetlights have been installed along Boulder Highway, Chadwick called the project over budget and said at least four businesses have closed due to reduced foot traffic brought by the project.

The Review-Journal reported previously that RTC requested an additional $12 million in 2025 for more transit shelters, and that most of that $12 million was being paid by the RTC.

City: Info from secondary sources ‘cannot be guaranteed’

In an emailed statement, a city spokesperson encouraged the public to check official sources regarding the Reimagine Boulder Highway project. Las Vegas Paving deferred to the city for comment.

“The City is committed to providing residents with reliable, timely, and accurate information throughout this construction project,” the city said. “Residents and commuters are encouraged to rely on construction updates provided directly by the City or from Reimagineboulderhighway.com, the official source of the most up-to-date and authoritative information including project details, maps, schedules, road closures, detours and traffic impacts.

“Information from other sources cannot be guaranteed for timeliness or accuracy and should not be confused with the City’s official communication,” the statement continued.

Romero, in a statement, accused Cox and Chadwick of “attempting to mislead Henderson residents because they have no substantive platform on which to run their campaigns.”

“A comparison of their social media accounts with the City’s shows nearly identical information — with the City’s being more current and accurate,” Romero said in a statement sent by campaign consultant Liz Trosper. “They have politicized an otherwise routine road construction project with misleading rumors and information since it began.”

“Their continued attacks diminish the outstanding work of Henderson’s Public Works staff and its third-party outreach consultant, who have provided accurate, real-time information to residents and businesses along the Boulder Highway corridor,” Romero’s statement continued.

“My other colleagues on the Council and I, along with the Henderson employees working to complete this critical project, are proud to report that it remains on time and on budget.”

Henderson resident Gene Stump, 73, attended Wednesday’s town hall and said he frequently drives through the construction along Boulder Highway. Once construction is completed, Stump said, reducing the number of travel lanes could create long-term traffic bottlenecks during rush hour.

“It’s a big reason for me. It’s not the ultimate (issue for me) but it’s one that concerns me because it shouldn’t have taken this long,” Stump said. “To go from three lanes to two is gonna be a disaster.”