Dozens and dozens of you write to me about your frustration with the 215 Beltway on the west side.  Especially about the Southern I-15 & 215 interchange.  It backs up every single afternoon, without a doubt.   

Many of you wonder: why doesn’t the county just restripe the lanes to make it three on each side… instead of two?

You think… since it "looks" wide enough… it seems like the simple thing to do!

But … there is more to it.  I asked the Clark County Public Works Department to try and simplify it for us! 

Here’s what they had to say:

The county’s original plan was to build the beltway as a "full freeway" facility as it was being constructed section by section. Under this plan, the beltway was slated to be completely build-out sometime in 2025 or later. As an additional note, had the county continued under the original plan, today’s beltway would maybe extend from the Summerlin Parkway or Charleston Boulevard area to Stephanie Street in Henderson. None of the 215 initial facilities north or Summerlin or Charleston would be in place or even in design at this time – - let alone in place and operation since October 2003.

In 1996, the county commissioners and other valley elected officials decided to adopt an "accelerated" schedule to get an initial facility in place (two lanes in each direction) for the entire 51-plus miles of the beltway’s alignment – - again which has been in place and operation since October 2003. To get this done, the environmental assessment/evaluation of the beltway’s initial facilities was approved for only two lanes in each direction. This Federal Highway Administration approval was needed in order to proceed with the accelerated construction plans/schedule.

Because of the "accelerated" schedule the 215’s two bridge structures near the railroad crossing and Decatur Boulevard in the valley’s southern region were constructed to accommodate two lanes in each direction. These bridge structures were constructed in 1997 and opened to the traveling public in 1999 when the mainline travel lanes were completed. The county’s plan all along has been to "upgrade" the 215’s initial facilities to their "ultimate" freeway configuration once the initial facilities were completed. These upgrade projects started before the end of 2003.

Since this section of the 215 was initially completed, people moving to the Las Vegas Valley have continued to add numerous vehicles to the valley’s roadways each day. Consequently, you have more vehicles using this roadway each and every day.

The county currently has a project, which it is hoping to advertise for construction by the this month. If the project is advertised, awarded and encounters no problems, a third travel lane through this section of the 215 could be available for use sometime in early 2008. The overall project won’t be finished until the end of 2008.

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I hope this information helps you understand!

Posted by Dayna Roselli

Categories: Travel