Traffic is constricted by lane closures related to Project Neon, a nearly $1 billion, 4-mile-long widening of Interstate 15 from the U.S. 95 interchange to Sahara Avenue on Tuesday, March 21, 2017.
Tuesday, May 8, 2018 | 2 a.m.
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With a bevy of road construction projects throughout Southern Nevada, drivers are frequently stalled in traffic during their travels. The projects aren’t limited to one part of town and includes work on everything from the freeway to major commuter streets.
Here are some of the major road projects expected to impact drivers through the rest of 2018 and beyond.
Project Neon
Project Neon, the nearly $1 billion, 4-mile-long widening of Interstate 15 between Sahara Avenue and the U.S. 95 Spaghetti Bowl interchange, is impacting the busiest stretch of highway in Nevada. The corridor sees 300,000 vehicles per day, 25,000 motorist lane changes each hour and an average three crashes daily.
With traffic through the corridor expected to nearly double by 2035, the project will enable the stretch to accommodate the influx of drivers, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation.
“Project Neon will reduce travel delays by nearly 30 percent for a $110 million annual savings through increased productivity,” said Tony Illia, NDOT spokesman. “It will improve air quality due to less idle time and vehicle exhaust while enhancing motorist safety from reduced merge and weave traffic.”
Drivers are seeing the most traffic impact created by the multiyear project as the third and final major stage — The Main Event — is impacting a stretch of I-15 from Spring Mountain Road to the Spaghetti Bowl downtown.
Construction is currently 63 percent done, with anticipated project completion in the summer of 2019.
The project includes high occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV) from southbound U.S. 95 to southbound I-15 that also accommodate carpool traffic from northbound I-15 to U.S. 95 northbound; the converting of the two existing I-15 express lanes into a general purpose and HOV lane, creating 22 consecutive miles of carpool lanes between I-15 and U.S 95.
The lanes will provide carpoolers and rapid transit downtown access with the Neon Gateway HOV interchange between Oakey Avenue and Charleston Boulevard. The gateway will connect to a redesigned Grand Central Parkway for easier downtown Las Vegas access.
Project Neon also creates a full diamond interchange at Charleston Boulevard for more efficient access to Symphony Park and the Medical and Arts districts near and around downtown.
Martin Luther King Boulevard is also receiving a major overhaul as part of Project Neon, becoming a feeder-like roadway paralleling I-15 for improved performance and access.
Eastern Avenue
A stretch of Eastern Avenue from Sahara Avenue to Warm Springs Road will see different road projects carried out over the next year.
They include:
Flamingo Road to Sahara Avenue: Installing ITS fiber optic wire in the outside lane and repaving the road surface. This portion is scheduled to finish in November.
Flamingo Road to Desert Inn Road: Reconstruction and paving of the road, which is expected to begin in July.
Flamingo Wash (Twain Avenue-Tioga Way area): Flood control. Expected to break ground this summer.
Tompkins Avenue to Flamingo Road: Upgrade the sewer and repave the road (under construction by Clark County Water Reclamation District).
Sunset Road to Tompkins Avenue: Reconstruction of the road. Design starting soon. No set date for groundbreaking.
Warm Springs Road to Sunset Road: Reconstruction and addition of pedestrian flasher at Maule Avenue. Advertising for construction soon.
“All of the projects will have some impact on traffic during construction, as there will be lane closures and/or lane shifts,” said Dan Kulin, Clark County spokesperson. “When finished, the road projects will make the roads safer for drivers and pedestrians, and the flood control projects will increase capacity for our flood control system and mitigate potential flooding in those areas.”
U.S. 95 widening
A pair of road projects on U.S. 95 in the northwest part of the valley will impede traffic in the area.
The $78 million widening and upgrade to a six-mile stretch of U.S. 95 between Ann and Kyle Canyon roads in northwest broke ground in January.
The project expands the highway from four to six lanes from Durango Drive to Kyle Canyon Road, constructing the Elkhorn Road carpool access ramps and adding a diverging diamond interchange at Kyle Canyon that temporarily shifts traffic to the left side of the road to allow traffic to flow through two pairs of unimpeded left turns onto and off the freeway.
“Diverging diamond interchanges are a much more efficient movement of vehicles as opposed to ramps where you need to slow and then speed back up to make a freeway-to-freeway connection,” Illia said. “Although still new to Nevada, it doesn’t require a lot of right-of-way acquisition, which saves taxpayers money.”
The Kyle Canyon interchange will feature a pole-mounted, electrically powered and self-contained wrong-way driver alert sign. It will be the second such alert system in the city.
The project will relieve congestion, improve efficiency and enhance safety in fast growing northwest. With over 52,000 vehicles traveling through this corridor daily and traffic expected to more than double over the next two decades, the project provides capacity for future growth and development in the area.
The next phase of the Centennial Bowl interchange is expected to break ground later this summer.
The $56 million project includes the construction of the U.S. 95 northbound to the 215 Beltway westbound flyover, the U.S. 95 southbound to the 215 Beltway eastbound flyover and 215 Beltway eastbound to U.S. 95 southbound at-grade ramp.
I-15 widening in North Las Vegas
The nearly $34 million, 8-mile-long widening of I-15 between Craig Road and Speedway Boulevard in North Las Vegas is nearing completion.
The project expands the highway from four to six travel lanes and includes new lighting, signage and landscaping, with weathered steel art sculptures.
Drainage improvements and seismic upgrades to four overpass structures at Range Road and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks are included in the plans.
The interstate currently sees 41,600 vehicles daily with that figure expected to increase by 71 percent by 2033. The area also sees significant traffic backups during large events at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway like NASCAR weekend and the Electric Daisy Carnival festival.
The 18-month-long project is scheduled to finish by early June.
State Route 160 Phase 2 widening
Commuting northward toward Pahrump and beyond should become even safer as a 6-mile stretch of Blue Diamond Road (State Route 160) is set for widening from mile maker 16.3 to mile marker 22 from two to four lanes.
The up to $71 million widening project is the second phase of a two-phase widening effort along Blue Diamond Road. Phase 1 completed last June, which widened a 5-mile portion of the road between Red Rock Canyon Road (State Route 159) and mile marker 16.3, or just before entering Mountain Springs.
Phase 2 plans include a raised median barrier, bicycle lanes, and flattened side slopes for safe turnouts. New signage and improved intersection lighting are also included in the design.
Other proposed enhancements for the project are frontage roads for the Mountain Springs community, an emergency signal at the Volunteer Fire Station, and a wildlife undercrossing near Mile Marker 18.4.
Groundbreaking for the project is expected later this year.
Las Vegas Boulevard widening
Once part of a desolate area of the Las Vegas Strip, the city’s ever-expanding borders stretch beyond the area between Silverado Ranch Boulevard and St. Rose Parkway.
The once two-lane stretch of road has been the focus of a $30 million widening project by Clark County. The portion of Las Vegas Boulevard South will stretch to three lanes in each direction on the road that is anchored by the South Point at the north end and The M on the south.
The project is expected to wrap up in the next month.
I-15 / U.S. 93 Garnet Interchange in Clark County
The $58 million I-15 / Garnet Interchange project broke ground in February
Plans for the project include a modified diverging diamond interchange, replacing the existing interchange that was built in 1963. U.S. 93 will also be widened from a two-lane highway to a four-lane divided highway for five miles, extending from the Garnet Interchange to just north of Apex Power Parkway.
Other features of the $58 million project include reconstructing a frontage road along Apex Industrial Park with improved access points and enhanced intersections at Apex Great Basin Way, Apex Power Parkway and Grand Valley Parkway.
There will also be a two-lane frontage road parallel to U.S. 93 with a partial interchange at Grand Valley Parkway; additionally, it will be designed for future traffic signals at U.S. 93/Apex Great Basin Way.
I-15 will be prepped for future a widening to six lanes in the area, as well.
“The project will improve safety and enhance mobility for both Interstate 15 and U.S. Highway 93,” Illia said.
NDOT previously sought a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant from the Federal Highway Administration for improving the corridor, which was a vital alternate route during the 2014 Moapa floods that washed out and briefly closed a section of Interstate 15.
The project is expected to finish in December.
