Traffic hub kept streets clear for candidates

The eyes of more than 71 million people were focused on the third and final presidential debate at UNLV.

But I was staring at traffic jams in Las Vegas. Thankfully, I wasn’t alone.

Huddled within the region’s traffic nerve center, a team of 10 people monitored cars lined up along sections of Interstate 15, the 215 Beltway and surrounding streets that were closed Wednesday night to clear a secure path for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

And, in case anyone was wondering, Clinton’s motorcade was bigger than Trump’s.

“It takes a village to move a candidate,” quipped one of the workers watching Clinton’s entourage.

More than 600 cameras are mounted on freeways and streets across Clark County, with live footage beamed to large television screens inside the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada’s traffic management center.

Housed inside the Nevada Highway Patrol’s office just off Sunset Road, the secured hub was established in 2005 as a strategic tool aimed at unclogging gridlocked streets. It also comes in handy during popular events that draw streams of tourists to Las Vegas.

The office is staffed by 40 workers coming from the RTC, the Nevada Department of Transportation and the state Department of Public Safety, all charged with examining the effects of snarled streets, car crashes and the occasional burnedout signal. The team is