Henderson approves ramp onto I-515 at Horizon Drive

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Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008 | 2:46 p.m.

The intersection of Horizon Drive and Interstate 515 should get some rush-hour relief with a project the City Council approved Thursday.

The council approved $455,000 to add a northbound on-ramp onto I-515 at Horizon Drive, which should improve traffic flow at both the on-ramp intersection and at Pacific Avenue and Horizon Drive, Public Works Director Robert Murnane said. There is no plan to add a lane to the northbound off-ramp at I-515, he said.

Between 7 and 8 a.m., the volume of traffic is so heavy sometimes that cars are kept waiting through two cycles of stoplights trying to get to the freeway or to Horizon Ridge Parkway on the other side of the freeway, Murnane said.

A second lane for the on-ramp should alleviate the problem, he said. The money the council approved should cover all of the design and some of the construction of the project, he said.

The design work, which will be put out to bid, should start in the next couple of months, with construction expected to begin next year, he said. The council also approved a stoplight at the intersection of Mission Drive and Horizon Ridge Parkway. A budget for $89,000 was set for design work. Any money that is not used for design will be used for construction, Murnane said. He expected the entire project to cost more than $300,000.

Because both Mission and College are arteries, the Public Works Department has evaluated the intersection periodically to see if the traffic flow warranted a traffic light, he said. The intersection now meets federal standards for a light.

The project should be done in the next 12 months, he said.

Both projects received unanimous votes as part of the consent agenda, where routine, non-controversial items are considered with a single vote.