New I-15 lane to open next week

By Kyle B. Hansen (contact)

Friday, Sept. 18, 2009 | 1:55 a.m.

Las Vegas Valley drivers will get a glimpse of a new, wider Interstate 15 next week as a third lane opens just north of the Spaghetti Bowl.

“It shows there’s a light at the end of the tunnel,” said Nevada Department of Transportation spokesman Bob McKenzie. “Before you know it the project will be done.”

But there is still work to do in that area, and motorists should use caution as crews shift the lanes beginning Sunday evening, McKenzie said.

By the end of Tuesday, the third lane is expected to be open from the Spaghetti Bowl to north of Owens Avenue.

More of the new lane is expected to open in November, but work on the $240 million project will continue until next fall.

The project to widen I-15 from the Spaghetti Bowl to Craig Road began in September 2007.

In addition to the lane shifts, there are other traffic restrictions planned:

• Bonanza Road will be closed at the freeway from 11:30 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday for work on the freeway bridges.

• Carey Avenue is closed at the interstate through January for bridge construction.

• The D Street/Washington Avenue on-ramp to I-15 southbound will remain closed until January and Washington Avenue is restricted to one lane in each direction until later this month.

• The Lake Mead Boulevard off-ramp from northbound I-15 and the on-ramp to northbound I-15 are closed until October.

• Lake Mead Boulevard at the freeway will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday for bridge work.

• The off-ramp to Cheyenne Avenue from northbound I-15 will be closed from 9 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Sept. 24 and the on-ramp from Cheyenne Avenue to southbound I-15 will be closed from 9 p.m. Sept. 24 to 5 a.m. Sept. 25.

Blasting to cause delays on U.S. 95 near Hoover Dam

Motorists traveling between Las Vegas and Phoenix may encounter some delays as the Arizona Department of Transportation continues work on U.S. 93 near the Hoover Dam.

Crews will be doing blast work from noon to 3 p.m. Thursday about 15 miles south of the dam. Motorists should expect 30-minute delays during the blasting.

The U.S. 93 project will widen about 15 miles of the road near the dam before the opening of the Hoover Dam bypass late next year.

The project began in January on the road, which carries more than 14,000 vehicles each day.

Tenaya Way overpass work closes Summerlin Parkway

Work on the Tenaya Way overpass will close Summerlin Parkway near the U.S. 95 interchange Friday night.

The freeway will be closed from U.S. 95 to Buffalo Drive from 9 p.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Saturday while crews work on the new bridge.

The ramp from southbound U.S. 95 to Summerlin Parkway has been closed since June for the project.

Motorists traveling from northbound U.S. 95 to Summerlin Parkway can take the Rainbow Boulevard southbound exit, turn west on Westcliff Drive, then north on Buffalo Drive, to go westbound the Summerlin Parkway.

Those driving east on Summerlin Parkway can take the Buffalo Drive northbound exit and then go east on Lake Mead Boulevard to get to northbound U.S. 95.

Motorists traveling from Summerlin Parkway to southbound U.S. 95 can take the Buffalo Drive southbound exit, then go east on Westcliff Drive to northbound Rainbow Boulevard to get to U.S. 95.

The $7.9 million, 10-month Tenaya Way overpass and Bonanza Trail project began in January and will connect the two sides of the road over Summerlin Parkway.

The project includes retaining walls, median islands, a pedestrian underpass and other improvements to the area between Westcliff Drive and Washington Avenue.

In addition to the overpass, the Bonanza Trail, a 1,350-foot biking and walking path on the north side of Summerlin Parkway, is being built to connect Bill Briare Family Park to the Kellogg-Zaher Sports Complex.