Welcome to fixthisbridge.com
In July, 2019, I was on a lengthy road bike ride and part of my path was to cross the bridge at Town Center and the 215. When my bike tires ran over the epoxy that’s filling the joint cracks, it was like ice and my bike went flying out from underneath me. A few fellow cyclists helped me up and told me how dangerous this bridge is, and that many others have had similar experiences. I connected with a cyclist that shared my same experience and we tried to ask Clark County to make this bridge safe for cyclists. Unfortunately, our efforts have fallen on deaf ears. Clark County maintains that this bridge is safe for cyclists.
I’m looking for other cyclists that have fallen or been injured on this bridge. I know that others share my experience. As a group, we are going to get the county to FIX THIS BRIDGE.
If you can share your experience it will help us make the case that this bridge is unsafe. Please complete the form below to help support the changes needed to improve this bridge.
Sincerely,
Tyler
Why is this bridge unsafe?
The joint cracks on this bridge are the cracks in the concrete that help the concrete expand and shrink with temperature changes. Joint cracks are an important part of the engineering for any concrete path of travel. The joint cracks on this bridge run parallel to the path of travel which is dangerous for cyclists. Road bikes have narrow tires that can fall into the joint crack which make the cyclist fall. The County has decided to address the joint cracks by filling it in with an industry accepted epoxy-like solution. This epoxy-like solution becomes very slippery in the hot Las Vegas summer and causes road bikes to slip out from underneath the cyclist.
We are asking the County to change the joint cracks to run perpendicular to the path of travel. There are other bridges on this cycling path that have paved the joint cracks to be perpendicular to the path of travel. By changing the direction of the joint cracks it addresses the hazard posed to cyclists.
If you have been inured by this bridge, please share your story by completing the form below. If you are an avid cyclist that wants to help support our cycling community, please complete the petition to help make the case that this bridge is unsafe. We have a large, active and helpful cycling community. Help support other cyclists staying safe in Las Vegas.
"Thanks for your activism. This bridge got me in early May, essentially undoing a knee surgery I had almost recovered from.
I was going down the ramp and hit the seam, went down hard on my left side. I can tell from the marks in the pavement at that spot that I was not the first or the last to go down there. As a lawyer, I can tell you that the county should now be on notice that this is a dangerous spot and liable for whatever future injuries occur there.
Let me know what I can do to help."
- Dan Curriden
"Your story is interesting but it is only part of the problem of an overall lack of political will to say no to building 100% for cars.
Been cycling 3 years now. That epoxy can be tricky. I've seen other people wipe out on it when they lost their focus. Hell, I wiped out about a month ago at Flamingo and Fort Apache as DOT had removed the sidewalk and I tried to mount the curb without unclipping my shoes. I contacted them and it seems to have expedited them repaving the part they removed. Now I'm trying to get them to sweep the trail at Summerlin Pkwy where all the construction vehicles keep passing through(as far as I understand from the signage, they shouldn't be using that entrance, they should be going from Far Hills).
The bridge itself is demonstrative of slapping a solution onto bad road design. Obviously the knucklehead engineers that okayed 4 180s for bikes and walkers never walked or biked a day in his life. It would've been better if it was a straight shot, but then they'd have to actually think about what they're doing when planning these things and a lot of these infrastructure projects are rubber stamped.
That entire trail that hugs the 215 is honestly really lousy when you think about it. All the road noise from the highway makes for a "lousy peaceful walk/bike ride". It gets even worse when the trail has an underpass and acts as an echo chamber for the adjacent highway.
Because Las Vegas is a city built mostly after WW2, car centric policies force pedestrians and cyclists to the side and into very dangerous situations."
- Patrick Dowlat
"Tyler,
I was seriously injured on this bridge in October 2015. I put Clark County on NOTICE of the hazard caused by the negligent construction and negligent design of this bridge in January 2016. Clark County filled the joint crack that was running in a linear direction with some type of epoxy material but utterly failed to change the HAZARD of the joint crack running in the same direction as the direction of travel. The joint crack running in the same direction as the direction of travel is the HAZARD for cyclists. This website is so important to document for Clark County how dangerous this bridge is and will not allow Clark County to escape liability for cyclists that continue to be injured on this Bridge.
The only solution is to have the concrete re-poured so that the joint cracks run perpendicular to the direction of travel the same way the Far Hills Bridge concrete has been poured. Clark County needs to FIX THIS BRIDGE!!!!!!!!!!!"
- Kevin M. Hanratty