Interchange Almost Complete: But WILL NOT OPEN
I covered a “What’s Driving You Crazy” question today that has everyone talking! Someone asked me when the new Lake Mead & 215 interchange is going to open. Well, I found out, it will be done in about 2 weeks…. but, it won’t open.
There is a verbal agreement between Public Works, the County Commissioners, the city of Las Vegas, and Sun City residents. The county says it was agreed that the interchange would stay closed until the Summerlin Parkway interchange opens in 2010. Sun City residents were very vocal about this. This was decided about 10 years ago during public meetings about this project.
Unless the county hears otherwise, the interchange will sit there…. finished… for two years.
Click here to view a story by our neighborhood guide reporter.
What do you think?
I’m sure there are two sides here. I am curious to hear both sides!
Tags: 215 beltway
July 29th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I wouldn’t care if the Lake Mead/I-215 interchange NEVER opened. The traffic on Lake Mead from Rampart to the 215 is so bad right now that it will only get WORSE as soon as that interchange is opened.
July 29th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Prey, tell… WHY were the “Sun City Residents” so vehemently opposed to Lake Mead opening prior to Summerlin Parkway? Knowing their reasons for wanting to deny the public access to a complete and convenient thoroughfare for two years would assist me in forming my opinion.
July 29th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
I believe they do not want all the traffic skipping over the Summerlin Parkway while it’s under construction and filtering off the Lake Mead interchange… thus causing traffic congestion in their neighborhood.
July 31st, 2008 at 9:47 pm
First they don’t want the planes flying overhead, now they don’t want cars going down their streets. Get over it people. Just because you are retired and have nothing better to do all day than complain to the city and county politicians, us working stiffs need easier quicker ways to get to and from work!
August 2nd, 2008 at 2:22 am
Okay, I’ve refrained from posting for a few days to see what some others have to say, (and I really like Charles’ post by the way) and I just can’t think of one good reason this group of malcontents are getting their way. I can’t think of any other situation where this “logic” would apply. We don’t build shopping plazas only to leave them sit idle because the extra traffic would be burdensome to neighboring residents who are used to having a nice quiet desert lot where the Costco/Wal-Mart/Best Buy is now. People don’t buy a new car and let it sit in their garage because it might get dirty or scratched by using it. And I’m pretty sure they’re going to open City Center when it’s finished even though the ‘fly-over’ to it from I-15 won’t be done for a while and the extra traffic it causes will make the strip nearly impossible to use at times.
I want to know what kind of political sway this community holds and how it got it. We all know traffic here is a nightmare and the beltway is -in not a small way- going to help out, how did one small community manage to make our local government make such an ABSURD decision that will affect people from across the entire valley?
August 3rd, 2008 at 11:10 am
And then there are those of us that live in Pahrump, Beatty, Tocopa and Death valley that HAVE to come into Vegas for numerious reasons. We either have to go way North and then work our way back South or get off way South and work our way North on side streets. Believe me, after driving for an hour or more it is very frustrating to do this. I realize we do not number in the hundreds of thousands but we too support the businesses in Vegas.
Joyce
August 4th, 2008 at 6:54 am
The tax payer base of Nevada paid for this road project didn’t they? The road should be open to all.
August 5th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Hey!! Good Point Glenn!!! Money talks, right?
August 7th, 2008 at 11:36 am
I agree. It should open. My husband and I thought that it would open soon because of all the traffic that is being congested at 215/Summerlin Pkwy. Guess we were wrong huh! I drive through Lake Mead and Rampart, heading west on Lake Mead all the time. There is hardly ANY traffic.
With the opening of the Lake Mead interchange, it would ease a lot of frustration with the construction of Summerlin Pkwy. That is why there are “detours” but now we can’t have one just because Sun City is complaining. Give me a break. Shouldn’t everyone be able to decide what goes on, not just Sun City?
A lot of Sun City complains about some of the dumbest things. Just the other day Eye witness news showed an old lady complaining about the trees being to big in “their” golf corse? What did she think it wasn’t going to grow?
I agree with James totally! Why build something when it can’t be used for 2 years (or a year and a half). Did the ALL the tax payers pay for this? Why does ONE community get to decide it’s fate? Plus it was built wasn’t it? They allowed it to be built!!! So what, they want to be the only ones to use it once Summelin Pkwy is complete? What a pain!
August 19th, 2008 at 6:14 am
Delaying the Lake Mead interchange opening by two years is an abuse of taxpayer’s funding. We paid for the project, it’s complete, now open it for public use. If the delay is allowed, the responsible politians should not be re-elected to office.
August 20th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
**Copied and Pasted (without permission…sorry) from the 08-20-08 online edition of the Las Vegas Review Journal**
Responding to the ire of motorists and taxpayers, the Clark County Commission on Tuesday ordered the Lake Mead Boulevard interchange with the Las Vegas Beltway to be opened.
Tuesday’s decision negates a commission order to keep the $12.5 million interchange closed until 2010, even though it is nearly constructed.
The commission made that decision several years ago to appease residents from Sun City, a retirement community near the interchange, who believed connecting Lake Mead to the Beltway would increase traffic deaths and crime in the area.
Fewer than 10 people spoke in favor of or against opening the interchange at Tuesday’s meeting.
But county officials reported that an overwhelming majority of messages left by citizens encouraged the commission to open the interchange, including 160 of 175 phone messages left regarding the issue.
Not all were pleased.
Sun City resident Edward Gangloff said if the commission opened the interchange blood would be on its hands. (**personal comment interjected here**, don’t you think that’s a little over-the-top?.. c’mon dude, if you’re THAT AFRAID of people and traffic and progress you should probably have retired in Overton)
“You are going to be responsible for the fatalities and major traffic accidents,” Gangloff said.
He explained that motorists will inevitably speed down the steep road as Lake Mead descends toward the center of the valley.
Combine that with elderly drivers who follow the 35 mph speed limit and the result will be lethal.
Gangloff proposed, to no avail, that the commission prevent drivers who did not live in Sun City from entering the neighborhood’s roadways.
Commissioner Chip Maxfield, who several years ago had agreed to delay opening the interchange, brought the issue before the commission along with Susan Brager.
Maxfield said he’s always been in favor of construction improvements to help lessen congestion and ease traffic problems in the valley.
“There is every reason to have the Lake Mead interchange. There is every reason to have it opened. There are only a few reasons to delay it’s opening,” he said.
Maxfield said he agreed to keep the interchange closed so traffic patterns could develop as other interchanges opened.
The idea was that when the Lake Mead interchange was opened, traffic would not burden the community.
Brager said keeping the interchange closed would be a detriment to emergency responders.
When it is opened, fire, police and medical technicians will have easier access to the community.
Bobby Shelton, spokesman for the Clark County public works department, said work to finish the interchange will begin without haste.
He said all that remains is running a power line to the traffic signals, which, if expedited, could be done within six weeks.
The county will also work to erect screens, similar to sound walls, so the ramps won’t be seen by residents neighboring the onramps and offramps. Building the screening was still in the design process and could cost up to $600,000, officials said.
Dave Riggleman, a spokesman for the city of Las Vegas, said the city’s public works department needs to do some minor surfacing work before Lake Mead, from the interchange to Thomas W. Ryan Boulevard, is opened to traffic.
The surfacing work is expected to begin Aug. 26 and probably would be done by Aug. 28 at a cost of about $50,000, he said.
“It’s a two-day job,” he said.
The city also has plans to put a traffic signal at the intersection of Lake Mead and Thomas W. Ryan, Riggleman said.
Once power lines have been run along Lake Mead, installing the traffic signals at Thomas W. Ryan will be done in conjunction with the county’s plan to erect traffic signals at the interchange, he said.
October 27th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Do we have an update on this? It’s still not open.
October 30th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Yes- they are working with Nevada Power to get the lights up and running… since they didn’t plan on opening it until 2010 they didn’t have it ready. They say at the latest, just before Thanksgiving, it will open! Hope that helps!
October 30th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
I’m going to drive through the area right after it opens to see how many old curmudgeons are out a-finger-pointin’ and a-cursin’ all of us young whippersnappers and hooligans for driving through their space. HAHA… Ahhh… I crack me up.
November 5th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
That’s funny! I was just going to leave a comment and ask what the heck was going on!! I drive by it everyday and roll my eyes because it isn’t open yet. I knew 6 weeks of “expiditing” wasn’t going to happen. Oh well!
I’m with ya James! I can’t wait to get off on Lake Mead when it opens. It’s funny how some of the SCA residents complain, do they not notice their fellow neighbors going 50mph down Lake Mead where the speed limit is 35, and then where the speed limit is 45 (just after Anasazi sp?) they are going 60!!!! Crazy old farts! They are just as bad!!!
November 18th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I read where on Oct 30 they said this will open the latest, just before Thanksgiving. Do they know time it ticking and Thanksgiving is just about a week away. They better hurry if they are going to meet their word. But when have they? Have they gave any update on what day the switch will be thrown and the barricades removed?
November 22nd, 2008 at 9:39 am
It opened yesterday (11/21/08)!!!!
November 24th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Yes- it’s complete! Enjoy everyone!
December 12th, 2008 at 11:40 am
YAY!