Auto Show Drive set to help traffic in Henderson

Tuesday, July 22, 2003 | 8:41 a.m.

The grand opening Friday of a new off-ramp from U.S. 95 to the Valley Auto Mall will mark completion of the first phase of the $23.5 million project, Henderson spokeswoman Cindy Herman said.

The southbound Auto Show Drive off-ramp, between Sunset Road and Lake Mead Parkway, officially opens with a ceremony at 8 a.m., after which cars will be allowed to take to the road.

This first phase took six months and $5.1 million to complete. The next phase, which will finish the interchange, is projected to open early next year, Herman said. After that, auxiliary lanes will be built northbound and southbound on U.S. 95 between the Auto Show Drive and the Sunset Road. That could take until 2012.

The interchange will provide secondary access to the Sunset and Stephanie commercial area, as well as improving access to residential areas west of Gibson Road and south of Warm Springs Road.

"This project will help relieve Lake Mead and Sunset Road interchanges," Herman said. "The design will alleviate 10,000 vehicles per day from impacting the Sunset Road interchange."