Work on I-15 paving project expanding to one weekend

By Kyle B. Hansen

Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011 | 2 a.m.

The repaving project on Interstate 15 has created traffic headaches for motorists, but only on weekdays – until now.

In a reversal, the Nevada Department of Transportation said crews would be paving portions of the freeway on Saturday, Oct. 8, and Sunday, Oct. 9. Previously, crews were only working – and lanes were only closed – from Sunday night to Thursday morning each week.

The two-day marathon paving session will help to get the project done more quickly, the department said.

“We listened to the public’s concerns and evaluated the first few weeks of the project, looking at traffic volumes and traffic patterns throughout the corridor,” District Engineer Mary Martini said in a statement. “We’re timing this (new schedule) to have the least amount of impact on businesses and commuters. If we can finish sooner, we can give the freeway back sooner, which will ultimately benefit the public.”

The work will be to repave the middle southbound lanes on Oct. 8 and the middle northbound lanes on Oct. 9. This should be the only weekend the work will take place, and lane restrictions still will be lifted that Friday, spokesman Damon Hodge said.

The work will reduce the freeway to two lanes in each direction for some stretches of the state’s busiest freeway.

The $9 million project, being done by Fisher Sand & Gravel, is to repave about eight miles of I-15, from Tropicana to the Spaghetti Bowl, with rubberized asphalt.

The project began Sept. 11 and is scheduled to be done before Oct. 20, despite some setbacks during the first week due to rain.

Officials initially said they were only doing the work on weekdays because they didn’t want to create congestion and confusion for tourists who use the freeway to get to the Strip from Southern California.

But working on these two extra days should more than make up for the rain delay and get the road open well before the deadline, the department said.