Las Vegas’ roadways need help. Lots of it. Our freeways and surface streets are straining to accommodate the 2.2 million people who now live in Clark County, and much of that roadway is growing older by the day. (We won’t even talk about the underachieving stretch of I-15 that makes a 4.5-hour drive to LA into an 8- to 10-hour marathon of will. That’s California’s problem to fix, and hopefully they’ve got a plan for it.)
The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) is beginning an epic round of construction around the Valley that will add capacity, replace aging bridges and resurface rough roads, but the fixes won’t be easy or quick—and until they’re complete, we’ll see some serious bottlenecks. Here’s how to avoid them.
PINCH POINTS
Several large-scale highway projects around the Valley are now in progress (or soon will be), according to NDOT spokesman Tony Illia.
Downtown
Interstate 515 (U.S. Highway 95) is undergoing a $40 million viaduct rehabilitation project that will last into late 2022, reducing I-515/U.S. 95 to two travel lanes in each direction between I-15 and Eastern Avenue through late 2022. (A viaduct is an elevated roadway. Most of I-515’s path through Downtown is essentially one long bridge.) This rehab will repair the viaduct surface, add a new southbound lane, reconfigure the Casino Center Boulevard offramp and seismically retrofit selected columns, strengthening and extending the life of a structure that’s 60 years old in some sections.
Northwest Valley
The final phase of the Centennial Bowl interchange, where U.S. 95 meets the 215 Beltway, is now underway, building out the remaining three ramps needed to connect the two busy highways. The project also includes improvements to nearby Sky Pointe Drive and Oso Blanca Road, along with a new multiuse recreational trail, bike lanes, sidewalks and other improvements. The project is scheduled for completion in 2024.
North Las Vegas
When completed, the I-15/215 Northern Beltway Interchange—which NDOT has taken to calling the “speedway bowl”—will include a widening of the beltway from four to six lanes, dual-lane flyovers connecting the beltway with I-15, new on- and offramps at Tropical Parkway, a multiuse recreational trail and other improvements. The work should be done by late 2022.
South Valley
A 10-mile section of Nellis Boulevard, between Tropicana Avenue and Craig Road, is being replaced entirely. The Sahara Avenue, Charleston Boulevard and Bonanza Road intersections will also be repaved, and receive new streetlights and signage. It should be ready by mid-2022.
Primm
A $10.8 million, 16-mile paving upgrade is underway along southbound I-15, reaching from Jean to Primm. At least two lanes of I-15 will remain open throughout the job, which should be completed this fall. (No work will be done on Sundays, when approximately half of SoCal drives home.)
WAYS AROUND
You should probably defer to Waze or Google Maps in the moment, but if your phone’s out of juice and you’re out on the road at rush hour, here are a few alternate routes that have served us well in the past.
• If you’re approaching the U.S. 95 “spaghetti bowl” on the northbound I-15 and traffic begins to slow at Flamingo, exit onto Spring Mountain Road West and follow the signs to Highland Drive. It runs parallel to I-15 all the way up to Charleston Boulevard (though you’ll need to make turns on Western Avenue and Industrial Road; again, just follow the signs). From Charleston, you can hop back onto I-15 and then head to the spaghetti bowl, which is literally the next exit.
• Never cross the Strip at Sahara, Flamingo, Harmon or Tropicana if you don’t have to. The 25-year-old East Desert Inn Road arterial—a nonstop drive from Paradise Road to South Valley View Boulevard—remains the most helpful roadway ever built in this town.
• Unless you’re sightseeing, avoid the Strip entirely. Nearly every Strip hotel is accessible from Ocean’s Three: South Sammy Davis Jr. Drive, Frank Sinatra Drive and Dean Martin Drive. You could also use Paradise Road/Koval Lane for the casino on the east side of the Strip, but you run a sizable risk of hitting airport and/or convention traffic.
• Life is much easier if you have a second person in the car. The HOV lanes of I-15 and U.S.-95 have gotten us through the slowdowns at the spaghetti bowl and the Rainbow Boulevard curve like they were nothing at all. In fact, thanks to the recently added HOV flyovers at the spaghetti bowl, you can get from the Strip corridor to Summerlin without leaving the HOV lanes at all. Bring a friend.
WAZE AROUND
If you’re worried that traffic might slow you down, Illia suggests that you visit nvroads.com or call 511 to get the latest state highway conditions before you head out the door. Once you’re in motion, however, the Waze navigation app is an invaluable resource. “NDOT works with Waze to inform the public about planned highway restrictions,” says Illia. The app is available for both iPhone and Android, and it’s saved us from more than one long, frustrating backup.
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