express
BRT line in Las Vegas operating the BRT line in Las Vegas After four years of service, MAX moved forward with expansion. In August 2007, the RTC hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the new ACE BRT system, which was supposed to replace the MAX BRT system, using a new type of vehicles (MAX used Irisbus Civis; ACE would use
Wright StreetCar RTV) and new station designs. The first ACE line was named
Downtown Connector and would have traveled from the
World Market Center,
Downtown,
the Convention Center, and
the Strip, before finally terminating at
McCarran International Airport (now
Harry Reid International Airport). Construction was completed in mid-2009 with operations starting later that year. During construction for this route, construction was scheduled to begin on ACE Boulder Highway, which would have traveled from Downtown, down
Boulder Highway, and into
Downtown Henderson. The RTC was looking at even further expanding, with planned ACE route studies on North 5th Street,
Sahara Avenue,
Tropicana Avenue,
Flamingo Road, and
Maryland Parkway. In March 2008, the pavement was completed on Grand Central Parkway, northbound from Bonneville Avenue to F Street, with the colored cement bus lane in the middle of the road. Construction then proceeded on Grand Central Parkway south of Bonneville Avenue. Also by March 2008, a few of the new ACE buses were already built. In February 2009, construction was completed on Grand Central Parkway, with the exception of the station themselves. Construction was still ongoing along
Casino Center Boulevard and 3rd Street. The route was set to use a dedicated lane from Grand Central Parkway to Imperial Avenue/3rd Street. From that point, it was to operate in mixed flow travel, with special stations built along the route, terminating at the
South Strip Transfer Terminal. ==See also==