LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Nevada Department Of Transportation's Downtown Access Project continues to move forward as officials look for ways to address safety and congestion concerns along U.S. 95.
On Wednesday, NDOT Senior Project Manager Ryan Wheeler gave an update to the Las Vegas City Council on where the project stands. It first began over four years ago as city leaders looked at ways to enhance street configurations and help people get where they need to go more easily.
RELATED LINK: Road work continues around Downtown Las Vegas with access project evaluation
"These freeway bridges have never been widened since they were build in 1968 and 1980, although the Las Vegas area has grown 1,000% since that time," Wheeler said. "The purpose of the project is to address aging infrastructure, safety, and congestion to increase efficiency as well as revitalize and reconnect the community."
One issue that Wheeler brought up was fixing ramp spacing between Interstate 15 and U.S. 95, east of the Spaghetti Bowl.
"Today, when I-15 merges onto U.S. 95, there is a short distance before encountering the Casino Center Boulevard off-ramp. This causes weaving and backs up traffic," Wheeler said. "Each alternative provides a collector distributor road adjacent to the U.S. 95 to distribute traffic to the interchanges of Casino Center and Las Vegas Boulevard."
For example, Wheeler stated that going northbound, the on ramps of Las Vegas Boulevard and Casino Center are only two-tenths of a mile apart and can back up traffic "all the way south of Charleston Boulevard."
"[These plans] continue to provide all the same access but change the merge process so the weaving that happens today will no longer occur," Wheeler said.
There are similar proposed solutions for southbound lanes.
According to Wheeler, the proposed new freeway will have six total lanes in one direction instead of the four lanes that are currently there.
Wheeler said that NDOT officials are almost done with the environmental phase of the project and he unveiled the projected timeline, which runs through 2034. He added that the environmental phase is fully funded and that the agency is looking at a combination of federal and state funds to help pay for the design and construction phases of the project.
Wheeler said NDOT officials understand this amount of construction will affect the community. In addition to funding roadway improvements, the Downtown Access Project is also setting aside $10 million in resources for the unhoused community in the area, $10 million for an indoor recreation area, $15 million in replacement housing, and $20 million to complete bike lanes, widen and/or add sidewalks, plant trees, and add streetlights.
"Our original proposal was to put a bike/pedestrian lane on both sides of the freeway. We are now not pursuing that and the reason why is we've gotten feedback from the community who said don't put those there," Wheeler said. "They're a maintenance nightmare. The homeless might set up camps there. So what we're looking to do is to complete streets like the City of Las Vegas is doing. That way, they will have a protected pedestrian lane and bike lane that is away from traffic."
Wheeler said the department is hosting several public information meetings for the community to learn more about the project and how it could affect them in the future. You can see those details below.
