Delayed work stops I-15 traffic

Wednesday, March 31, 2004 | 11:39 a.m.

The highway contractor responsible for a severe Wednesday morning traffic jam on Interstate 15 will be fined about $22,500 for the lapse, officials said.

Local firm Granite Construction was supposed to be finished working on southbound I-15 between Russell Road and the airport connector at 5 a.m. but didn't get done until 7:15, causing early commuters to slow to a halt, said Bob McKenzie, public information officer for the Southern Nevada office of the state Department of Transportation.

Media outlets were notified about the traffic jam around 6 a.m., McKenzie said. Neil Rolander of the Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation said electronic signs above the highway alerted motorists, also starting around 6 a.m.

The construction delay was a rare lapse, and the department still has confidence in the contractor, McKenzie said.

The road work, which closed all but one southbound lane starting at 9 p.m. Tuesday, is part of a $7.4 million project to take down an old Union Pacific Railroad bridge and add lanes to the highway to ease the bottleneck at that spot, McKenzie said.

The project began last January and will be completed in May. All but one northbound lane will be closed from 9 tonight until 5 a.m. Thursday.