Nevada
Nevada transportation agencies navigate funding, inflation challenges
As the Las Vegas Valley continues to grow, keeping pace with needed road and infrastructure improvements will prove vital to area transportation, but recent funding issues could affect future projects in Southern Nevada.
This year major projects such as the Interstate 15-Tropicana interchange project are winding down and the Maryland parkway bus rapid transit project are moving along. Other infrastructure projects planned for the area are going to be tougher to plan as inflation has a significant impact on funding for projects in Las Vegas and Nevada.
As Nevada Department of Transportation director Tracy Larkin Thomason said, “Funding is their favorite ‘F’ word,” but that word has been tougher to come by in recent years.
“It’s a struggle at this time, we’re not going to lie about it,” Larkin Thomason said last week during a transportation panel breakfast for commercial real estate development association NAIOP Southern Nevada. “We’re looking at the highway state fuel tax and the federal fuel tax was established in 1993. … So, we’re building a 2025 transportation system on a 1993 budget.”
Budget
NDOT’s working budget for 2025-26 is estimated to be $896 million, with $608 million derived from federal dollars.
“We now have a federal program that is 61 percent of our program and with the recent change in administration, it’s been a lot of uncertainty,” Larkin Thomason said. “It’s calming down, things are moving forward.”
The 25-26 budget is 25 percent lower than NDOT’s budget in 2023-24, which was $1.2 billion.
Since 2021 construction inflation has increased by 68 percent nationally and between 50-60 percent in the Silver State, Larkin Thomason said.
“Which just means there’s less projects going out,” she said. “When we look at our state dollars, we have to make sure that our employees are paid, we have to make sure that our lights are on. We’re doing our sanding, we’re doing our plowing. We’re doing the safety things that we need to do.”
Deferred projects
Because of rising construction costs NDOT had to cancel nearly all projects solely funded by state dollars, Larkin Thomason said.
“But we still are on track for a number of the big ones as we’re talking about the grants,” she said. “We do have a number of grants throughout the state and we don’t want to miss out on taking advantage of those federal dollars.”
NDOT spokeswoman Kelsey McFarland later clarified that the projects Larkin Thomason spoke of aren’t canceled in full; they are just being deferred to another budget cycle. The only project fully canceled was the planned Downtown Access Project, which could’ve overhauled a key stretch of Interstate 11, also known as U.S. Highway 95, through downtown. The project, which could’ve cost north of $5 billion, was ultimately canceled because of environmental issues and cost concerns.
Despite the funding issues Larkin Thomason is confident that the department will make it through the rocky time.
“We always survive,” Larkin Thomason said. “I’ve been through a number of recessions. We’re resilient. Nevada is a resilient state, but we’re going to go through one of those cycles right now.”
Fuel revenue indexing
Regional Transportation Deputy CEO David Swallow said inflation is a key concern for the Southern Nevada transit agency, but especially in recent years.
“We’ve seen steep inflation in the last couple of years, especially coming out of the pandemic.”
Swallow highlighted the importance of the fuel revenue index program enacted in 2013, which is tied to inflation.
“With that, it’s helped us keep pace with inflation,” Swallow said. “Yeah, we’ve had some challenges in the last couple of years. It’s great that we came out of the pandemic, but I think that surge in demand also created some challenges in getting materials that the supply chain was tight and with that the prices go up. It’s economics 101.”
Last year the index rose by 2.9 cents to 23 cents per gallon of gas sold going toward the program that raises funding for road projects. The inflation rate is based on a 10-year rolling average of the producer index, but it cannot exceed 4 cents per gallon per year, according to the RTC.
Fuel revenue indexing is one of the three key sources of highway funding in Clark County. Motor vehicle fuel tax and sales tax are the other two major sources.
The revenue index funding was approved by Clark County voters in 2014 after the 2013 legislative approval, for an initial three-year term. In 2016, Clark County voters approved a 10-year extension of the program through 2026.
With the valley continuing to grow and the improvements that have already been made eventually needing repair, Swallow said the FRI is a crucial funding mechanism for Clark County.
“Going forward we’re still going to see increasing demands for development and expanding our roadway network. Not just expanding it but maintaining it. We’ve literally spent billions of dollars on our road network, and it’s a really good road network, but we’ve got to maintain it too. So, it’s really important to us to have that funding in place to keep all the infrastructure in a state of good repair.”
Future of FRI
Swallow is confident that the fuel revenue indexing program will again be extended next year, either by a vote or legislative action.
“Right now, there are some talks about legislatively possibly doing a short-term extension for the program to keep it going to ensure that we continue to have that robust funding source in place,” Swallow said.
The RTC’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget is $1.1 billion, with sales tax being the largest funding source at $327 million (29 percent), according to the RTC website.
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
The Las Vegas Raiders have orchestrated many groundbreaking moves this offseason, but none as important as the impact they made at a fundraising event.
Over the weekend, the Raiders hosted the Silver & Black Gala, raising $2.5 million for mental health in Nevada. Sunday marked the third time the organization had hosted the event, which has produced a tremendous turnout.
Several individuals spoke during the event, including Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis and president Sandra Douglass Morgan, who each highlighted the importance of acknowledging mental health.
Davis’ Thoughts
- “We’re here to raise money for mental health, which is one of the most important things we can all deal with,” Davis said. “Every one of us is impacted by mental health and our families, friends, or anywhere else, we are all directly affected. That’s why it’s so critical to raise money for our community. We’re grateful for you all, and appreciate you being here.”
Morgan’s Thoughts
“Mental health remains one of the most urgent issues across Nevada,” Morgan said. “Through the Silver & Black Gala, the Raiders Foundation is helping expand access to trusted, community-based resources that meet people where they are. This year’s recipients reflect the depth and complexity of that work, supporting our community in schools, clubhouses, homes, shelters, and family systems statewide.”
The Raiders also honored former player Carl Nassib and NFL broadcaster Jay Glazer on Sunday night as the winners of the Commitment to Excellence award. Here is what each of them had to say.
Glazer’s Thoughts
- “First, this is incredible what the Raiders are doing,” Glazer said. “God blessed me with the ability to communicate, so I’m going to use that to try and help other people. When we’re willing to share our scars, we turn them into strength—into something that connects us as teammates with nothing to hide. That’s what builds a true team, a championship team. I’m proud to stand with you and be part of this team tonight.”
Nassib’s Thoughts
- “It is truly a privilege to be up here,” Nassib said. “We’re creating space for people to be vulnerable—and that work is truly lifesaving. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about showing up and reminding people they’re not alone.”
Overall Thoughts
This has been a tremendous event over the last few years, and the Raiders’ organization has done a great job of raising awareness for mental health. This will be an event that the team will continue to host in the future.
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Nevada
Nevada workers fear homelessness as housing, jobs vanish before July deadline | Fox News Video
The final casino resort in Primm, Nevada, will close this summer after years of declining tourism, ending gaming operations in the once-busy border town and putting hundreds of employees out of work.
Primm Valley Casino Resorts is shutting down its remaining hotel and casino operations in July as experts point to increased competition, changing travel habits and post-pandemic losses behind the decline.
RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo (R) is in a strong position heading into the thick of his 2026 reelection bid — a huge war chest, almost universal name recognition and strong favorability numbers among the electorate.
Though Lombardo is likely focusing on the general election already, he faces 6 longshot candidates in the GOP primary seeking to upset him in June.
Nevada Governor GOP primary: 6 longshot candidates taking on incumbent Joe Lombardo
The challengers face a ‘Herculean’ task, said Mike Noble, CEO and founder of Noble Predictive Insights, an Arizona-based nonpartisan pollster focusing on the Southwest region.
“I see it as a Herculean task for anyone. If someone was coming in with like, I don’t know $10 million or something to spend, sure I can see that might be competitive, but I don’t see any of them coming anywhere near close to that. And so again, I just think I think it’s a non-factor at this point,” Noble said.
RELATED | Ballot Battleground: Nevada podcast: Early Noble poll shows dead heat in governor’s race
Despite the long odds, News 4-Fox 11 reached out to all candidates requesting an interview as part of our commitment to 2026 election coverage and our Know Your Candidates series. Three of the 7 running interviewed with us — Irina Hansen, Kameron Hawkins, Lombardo and Jose Zelaya did not respond to multiple emails requesting an interview.
We asked them similar questions about Gov. Lombardo’s leadership as governor, how they would pass a balanced budget and whether they support taxpayer subsidies for sports teams or major projects.
Click the candidate’s name to watch their full interview. Quotes below have been edited for space and clarity.
Donald J. Beaudry Jr. is an entrepreneur who founded BlkEdgeAi, a financial technology firm specializing in AI-driven trading systems and market strategy, according to his campaign website.
He told News 4-Fox 11 that Nevada has been drifting the last four years with ‘no captain, no vision.’ He believes his Wall Street-like trading market called NGEX (Nevada Global Exchange) would generate enough revenue to eliminate sales taxes, property taxes, business taxes and vehicle registration fees.
“I completely blueprinted it out and calculated that this model could generate enough revenue in this state that we could eliminate all the state taxes and fees that are currently in place and use that as the revenue source for the state and make everybody, every man, woman and child throughout Nevada, a shareholder in the dividends of that exchange … it would be a kind of Wall Street type of stock market, but far broader, more advanced, and exponentially more profitable.”
Matthew Rian Winterhawk is the founder of SmartSlaps foundation, a nonprofit that works to help schools and students with civic engagement and community responsibility.
If elected, he described going through a DOGE-like review of the state budget to determine which areas can be cut or kept depending on their ‘dollar to impact’ ratio.
“What I would like to do is go through every department, I’m talking top to bottom, from here from the primary to the beginning. We will cut every piece of administrative bloat across the system … I need more money for my teachers. Teachers never see it, students never see it, the impact never reaches the classroom. It’s 100% administrative bloat.”
The son of immigrants, Barak Zilberberg is now an entrepreneur and real estate investor based in Las Vegas. He ran for governor in 2022, earning 0.2% of the vote in the GOP primary. He told News 4-Fox 11 he’s also running for President in 2028.
He said he’s running for governor to improve the educational system, bring jobs to Nevada and open up federal land to build more affordable housing.
“We’ve got get high-speed railing systems in here where we can transit very easily, efficiently, and basically moving around between economies of both cities. Not only that, I’d like to bring Disneyland here and the Olympics, sponsor the Olympics here. I just want to make this a well-known place of entertainment, a hub.”
To help voters make informed decisions this election year, News 4-Fox 11 is publishing and broadcasting dozens of interviews with candidates who will appear on the June primary ballot.
In fairness to all candidates, they were asked a series of similar questions. We are posting the full interviews online so voters can watch their responses in their entirety.
Visit our Know Your Candidates 2026 page to view other race previews and meet other candidates.
Email reporter Ben Margiott at bjmargiott@sbgtv.com. Follow @BenMargiott on X and Ben Margiott KRNV on Facebook.
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