LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Traffic at the California border around Primm has been a complaint decades in the making, any time holiday travel causes a miles- and hours-long backup where the lanes narrow from three to two.
In December, travelers reacted to a joint I-15 expansion announcement from Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, with many hoping the project would alleviate the worst traffic congestion.
PLAN TO WIDEN I-15: California, Nevada governors announce Interstate 15 widening near state line
The project was slated to begin in Spring 2022 and be completed by the end of summer, but Labor Day weekend ended with familiar traffic jams and no third lane in sight.
"Yeah, it's miserable," said Ian Cudney.
"We used to go once every week," said Jean Barasona.
Barasona said his trips to California have dwindled to once or twice a year, but the traffic hasn't gone anywhere.
"Traffic early in the morning is very heavy," he said. "Especially coming from Las Vegas. Coming here, just in general, in Primm. If you try to beat the traffic, you will become the traffic."
Sisolak and Newsom's joint plan would have invested $12 million into turning the shoulder south of Primm into a lane that would be open to traffic on heavy travel days like Labor Day.
"You have a great experience in Las Vegas. You have a great time. You enjoy yourself. You do some shopping, and then you've got an eight-hour trip home, which isn't exactly the way to end a trip," Sisolak said at the time.
In December, financial analyst Steven Budin reacted to the announcement's timeline with hefty skepticism.
"If this is done by August, I'll buy you lunch," Budin said.
Budin got to keep his lunch money, because August came and went without significant progress into the project.
KTNV reached out to Sisolak's office and the Nevada Department of Transportation for comment on the project's completion date, and did not receive a response.
