Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak speak to reporters during the launch of the I-15/Tropicana Interchange Construction Project, Tuesday May 31, 2022.
Wednesday, June 1, 2022 | 2 a.m.
People using the interchange at Interstate 15 and Tropicana Avenue to get to Allegiant Stadium or T-Mobile Arena will have an easier time of it in years to come.
But first, they will have to contend with about two years’ worth of construction designed to ease the traffic congestion on event days.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was in Las Vegas on Tuesday to tout the multimillion-dollar project to replace the interchange at I-15 and Tropicana Avenue, praising Gov. Steve Sisolak and Nevada’s federal delegation for laying groundwork to make quick use of funds provided in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed by President Biden in November 2021.
“We’re improving a road design that was set up long before Las Vegas looked the way that it did,” Buttigieg said. “Modernizing this intersection is going to help more people to get to where they need to go more safely, more efficiently and more reliably.”
Most of the construction should be concluded by 2024, officials said Tuesday, but close-out work and cleanup will last into 2025. The $305 million project comes with a slew of improvements to the busy interchange and will add lanes, expand sidewalks and add carpool lanes and LED traffic management signs over select stretches ofI-15, officials said.
Among them:
• Tropicana will expand from three lanes to four in both directions between Las Vegas Boulevard and Polaris Avenue.
• Left-turning lanes from Tropicana to I-15 will be increased from two lanes to three.
• A new High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) half-interchange is being built on the south side of Harmon Avenue.
• The entrance to northbound I-15 will be expanded from one lane to two.
• A new alignment is being completed on Dean Martin Drive under Tropicana for improved traffic flow.
• New Active Traffic Management signs will be placed on I-15 between Warm Springs Road and Flamingo Road.
• Pavement rehabilitation will take place on I-15 between Warm Springs and Flamingo, including ramps for the 215 Beltway.
• A new pedestrian walkway is being built between Tropicana and Arena Drive.
• A pedestrian staircase will be placed between Tropicana and Dean Martin Drive.
• Ten-foot-wide sidewalks will be built in both directions on Tropicana.
• Landscaping is being provided within the new interchange area.
The bridge currently in place for the Tropicana/I-15 interchange is nearly 60-years-old and has outlived its useful life, said Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev. Built in 1966, the bridge no longer meets the federal height requirements for commercial vehicles.
As the population in the valley continues to expand and as more events are hosted in Las Vegas, the valley can only continue to be a destination if the structures are in place to support it, Cortez Masto said.
“We cannot continue to lead as a world-class travel destination if we do not invest in a world-class transportation network right here in our state,” Cortez Masto said. “We know that the transportation solutions we’re implementing will strengthen our key industries in Las Vegas and make it possible for visitors and residents alike to get the most out of our city.”
The project will create more than 4,600 jobs, most of which will be awarded to union-contracted construction companies, Sisolak said.
Buttigieg credited Nevada’s congressional delegation for key votes to pass the legislation, and he also praised Sisolak and the Legislature for being able to lay the groundwork to “efficiently” take advantage of the money allocated in the bill, including the $2.5 billion Nevada will receive for highway projects over the next five years.
“We’re not just building stadiums or highways when you have these kinds of construction jobs. You’re building a living for people in Nevada and around the country,” Buttigieg said. “We came here because this is a great place to show what federal investment infrastructure looks like when it’s in good hands, with a state that’s moving forward.”
The governor also noted that Las Vegas could draw as many as 300,000 visitors at a time on major holiday and event weekends. The addition of Allegiant Stadium and T-Mobile Arena, the home of the Vegas Golden Knights, has made the area an attractive venue. World-class events such as the Formula One race coming here in 2023 and Super Bowl LVIII in 2024, highlight the importance of maintaining one of the key entryways to the Strip.
“This project, at the gateway of our resorts corridor, opens commerce with a free flow of traffic,” said Frank Hawk, president of the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, one of the unions contracted to work on the project.
Hawk lamented that in his 38 years of construction, talk with colleagues about the reluctance to improve the nation’s infrastructure has been a running joke. But with the passage of the infrastructure bill, his union can help secure pension plans and family healthcare plans for workers on the project.
“It is so important for us to demonstrate that government can work for the people and that we can create good paying union jobs with projects like this that will also improve all of our communities,” said Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., who voted in favor of the infrastructure bill.
Crews are beginning utility work in the project footprint adjacent to I-15 north of Tropicana Avenue. Major construction won’t begin until July or August, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation.
As the interchange bridge is replaced, I-15 will likely be shut down in both directions at several points throughout the project, said Kristina Swallow, NDOT’s director. A specific timeline for closures won’t be ready for some time, but the department will give the public plenty of advance when those come, she said.
But even with the headaches that come with a long-term construction project, the payoff will be well worth it with increased commuter safety and several minutes shaved off of each commute, Sisolak said.
“Will there be some minor inconvenience for a couple of years? Absolutely, there will be,” Sisolak said. “But if you know anybody who has gone to a UNLV or a Raiders game or a Knights game, they know the congestion we have down here.
“I think the short-term sacrifice for the long-term gain is going to be something that we’re all really happy with.”
