Monorail officials agreed to move ahead on plans to extend the monorail to McCarran International Airport and resorts on the west side of the Strip.

Construction on the $1.3 billion plan could begin as soon as next year and triple the length of the existing system. Monorail President Curtis Myles said Thursday he is optimistic that the new system could be operational by 2010.

"I started looking at this on the first day I was on the job," said Myles, who took over in July.

He said after talking with Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury and Regional Transportation Commission General Manager Jacob Snow about the monorail's expansion, "we reached the conclusion that connecting to the airport and serving the west side of the Strip was the best way to go."

Read more about the planned expansion of the Las Vegas monorail at http://www.shns.com.