PRIMM (KTNV) — According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, over 340,000 visitors were expected to travel to Las Vegas over the Memorial Day Weekend this year.
With the unofficial start of summer weekend wrapping up Monday, many visitors were headed back to Southern California on Interstate 15, which is often backed up on Sundays and Mondays after long holiday weekends.
Ozzy Araujo, a Californian who usually visits Las Vegas a few times per year, decided to leave, with his girlfriend, early in the day Monday to beat the traffic blitz that was sure to worsen as the day wore on.
"If you want to go to a place worth going, you know a lot of people are going to want to go there too," Araujo said while waiting for his Tesla to charge at a station in Primm early Monday afternoon. "There's gonna be some traffic and that's just the way it is, but we wanted to leave a little early to beat the worst of it. We'll still probably end up in some traffic."
WATCH: 'Numbers we haven't seen since 2005' expected this Memorial Day weekend
For the first time ever on a long holiday weekend, Nevada and California officials agreed to open the shoulder on the southbound I-15 between Primm and the California agricultural checkpoint. During the mid-afternoon hours on Monday, that seemed to allow for a better flow of traffic in the area.
"This additional lane is available every Sunday and Monday, providing extra capacity for travelers heading from Southern Nevada to Southern California," said Nevada Department of Transportation spokesman Justin Hopkins, in an email to Channel 13 on Monday. "This Memorial Day marks the first with the operational shoulder lane and we are optimistic it will continue to alleviate congestion as it has on other high-traffic weekends."
Getting to and from the large population centers in Southern California and Las Vegas has also been hot topic of discussion for Las Vegas tourism officials and others, including Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman.
While Brightline is great, it is years away from becoming a reality. We need Interstate 15 widened now.
— Carolyn G. Goodman (@mayoroflasvegas) May 28, 2024
According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, close to 41 million people visited Las Vegas in 2023 and about one-third of those came from Southern California.
Most of those visitors came via the I-15, but a company called Brightline West has plans for a new high-speed rail line that would go from Victorville, Calif., and the south side of Las Vegas.
That project still has hurdles to get past before substantial work can begin — and would be years away from opening even if plans start to come together at a quicker pace — but workers are doing some surveying right now.
Brightline West says "geotechnical and boring work," along with surveying work, is being done now in the area near Primm. That will continue, the company says, through Friday.
WATCH: Brightline West holds Las Vegas groundbreaking
Jim Alstad, who lives in Los Angeles County, stopped a gas station in Primm on his way home from visiting relatives in Summerlin over the weekend.
He tells Channel 13 that he'd consider riding the high-speed train if it ever becomes a reality, but for now, he'll continue to drive back and forth, usually two or three times per year.
His main complaint about drivers this holiday weekend is a common one from drivers who encounter packed freeways — drivers going too slow in the passing lane.
"That's the one thing that I've found bothersome," Alstad says. "If people are in the left lane, they need to be going fast."
