So many people write in over and over again, complaining about the Southern 215 & I-15 interchange congestion.  They want to know "WHY" the county is not doing more to widening the road or fix the problem.   I got an update from Clark County’s Public Works Spokesperson, Bobby Shelton recently.  He gets this question all the time… so I asked him to break it all down for us! 

Here’s what he had to say:

Since 1996, the county’s plan for the 215 was to get the initial facilities (the beltway’s footprint) in place so that the valley’s commuting public could use it as an alternate route around the valley’s urban core.  The initial facilities were completed in 2003, and the county has been working since then to "build-out" the initial facilities to their full-freeway configurations. 

As for the I-15/215 interchange, it works as it was designed to work.  The bottleneck is actually caused by the fact that so many motorists are now using the 215 within this area, and the limited space available at the 215’s bridge structures near the Decatur Boulevard interchange as well as the railroad grade separation, which is just east of Decatur.

When these two bridge structures were initially constructed, the Federal Highway Administration only authorized and approved the construction of them for two travel lanes in each direction.  Consequently, that was the way they were built. 

Since October 2003, the county has worked to upgrade the initial facilities to the west of Decatur with the plan to widen the bridge structures once the county received approval from the FHWA.  After upgrading our environmental assessment, which took nearly three years to complete, the county received authorization to widen the bridge structures.  In fact, we just advertised this particular project (215 between Decatur to I-15) a couple of weeks ago.  Once the bids are returned, open, a winning bidder selected, and the contract awarded by the Board of County Commissioners, the contractor will start on the project to widen the bridge structures.  This project should be finished by the end of 2008 - - as long as no "bid" protest or other delays are encountered.

The county is also in the process to advertise at least four other projects for the 215.  One for the improvements between Charleston Boulevard and Summerlin Parkway.  Within the scope of work for this project the interchanges for Far Hills Avenue and Summerlin Parkway will be constructed.  Within this contract, the county will also build the 215’s mainline travel lanes for the area of the beltway.  Once this project is complete, beltway motorists will no longer have to use the intersections at Far Hills and Summerlin.  They will be able to use the 215’s new travel lanes and travel under the newly constructed interchanges and avoid the traffic signals - - as the currently encounter now.

As a separate project, but being constructed during the same time frame as the one above, will be a project to construct the Lake Mead Boulevard interchange for this area of the 215.  Both of these projects are slated to be finished by the end of 2009.

Additionally, two projects (Decatur to Hualapai Way and Hualapai to Charleston) will be advertised in the very near future to re-stripe this section of the 215 (Decatur to Charleston) to three travel lanes in each direction.  The completion of these two projects is scheduled for the end of 2008 - - at the same time as the widening of the two bridge structures mentioned earlier.

The county’s 215 has been constructed via 1990 and 2002 Question 10 monies - - one percent of a person’s motor vehicle registration, and a portion of commercial/residential development tax.  It has only been in recent years (last two or three) that the county has started working with the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada for additional funding.  There are currently no FHWA funds involved with the Clark County 215 or Bruce Woodbury Beltway.  Once we complete the "build-out" of the beltway, the county hopes to turn it over to the Nevada Department of Transportation for maintenance.  However, until such a time, there are only county monies associated with the beltway.

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We’ll keep you updated on this project when it begins.

Hope this helps!

Posted by Dayna Roselli

Many people are concerned about the lights being out along the U.S. 95 and I-515 on the east side. 

They want to know… why?

Many of you have written to me saying it’s dangerous.  Some people think the lights are out because of the soundwall project along that stretch of the higway.  Well, it’s actually the result of COPPER WIRE THEFT.  It’s a growing problem in the valley.

The Nevada Department of Transportation’s Bob McKenzie tells me:

"Wire theft is a growing problem throughout the valley. Thieves have stolen wire along the corridor and NDOT is in the process of a designing a repair project repair project to bring the lighting back on line in a more secure manner. To date damages exceeding $600,000 have been caused by vandals along the I-515 corridor. If people see something suspicious along the highway they report it to the local authorities."

For now… the best you can do is make sure to drive the speed limit… and be aware of your surroundings if you drive that highway at night.  We’ll keep you posted!!

Posted by Dayna Roselli

Two major projects are taking place this week in the South part of the valley.

ONE… is on Dean Martin Drive between Oquendo and Warm Springs.  A 6 Million dollar project began Monday, June 11th.  This project will last SIX MONTHS!  Road crews will widen Dean Martin to two lanes in each direction.  This road is used heavily… and the widening will help ease traffic congestion.  Dean Martin runs just to the west of I-15, so it’s a nice short cut to and from Blue Diamond Road.

TWO… is construction on the Warm Springs Bridge. *** UPDATE - THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETE… NO MORE CLOSURES *** The bridge has structural damage after a truck hit the top of the bridge while attempting to drive underneath it on I-15.  Eastbound lanes have been closed… NOW, both eastbound and westbound lanes will close as workers begin to repair the bridge.  The closure will last until at least through Friday morning.  I-15 will also be affected.  I-15 Northbound will be reduced to two lanes from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. — and one lane overnight.  Plan those alternate routes! 

Happy Monday! Have a great week.

Posted by Dayna Roselli

Today in my Driving You Crazy segment, we covered Handicapped Parking and police enforcement.  This is not the first email question I received about this.  So we decided to talk to Metro Police.

Metro says it’s tough.  If they are ticketing people that are illegally parked in a handicapped spot… then those drivers say, "why aren’t you out on the road catching the people that are causing serious and fatal accidents instead??? Why are you worrying about this?" 

Metro does concentrate mostly on the roads…  that’s why they have help when it comes to enforcing the handicapped spots!

Do you know about the MVP’s ( Metro Voulunteer Program ) ?

This program includes volunteers that work for Metro Police and help them write tickets for things such as handicapped parking.  Metro says it’s very helpful and lets them concentrate on the more important issue of speeders and red light runners.

Click here for more information on the Program! Maybe you can even help out.

Posted by Dayna Roselli