Reimagine Boulder Highway projects hits halfway point as 2026 begins

The Reimagine Boulder Highway project in Henderson has just surpassed the halfway mark as the new year begins.

The $184 million project, which began in summer 2024, will reduce the number of traffic lanes from six to four, add wider sidewalks and elevated bike lanes on both sides of the road and create a center-run bus rapid transit system along the 7.5 miles of Boulder Highway in Henderson.

The project’s original $172 million budget grew by $12 million to $184 million late last year after the Regional Transportation Commission requested additional transit shelters. Most of the additional $12 million is being paid by the RTC, according to Henderson City Engineer Steve Conner.

The upgrades seek to improve mobility and safety along the city’s stretch of Boulder Highway, which was initially created in 1931 with the construction of the Hoover Dam. The road accounts for 25 percent of all traffic deaths in the city.

Crews are working on the second half of the multiyear project after wrapping up a bevy of work in 2025, mainly involving underground utility work, paving for the future center-run bus line and adding over 100 streetlights to the previously dark roadway.

NV Energy and the city will begin to power the streetlights later this year, marking a major aspect of the project.

“Honestly for me that’s a huge milestone, too, because right now the street is dark, and it’s always been dark,” Conner said. “For us to provide lighting at night — it’s a huge safety aspect for not only people walking on the road but for our drivers, too.”

Work began late last year on the foundations for the large bus shelters in the center-lane of Boulder Highway; more progress is expected early this year.

“I’d say at the end of the first quarter, we’ll start installing our first actual structure itself for our transit shelters, which is a big-time milestone for the project,” Conner said. “The first one being installed will be at Magic Way.”

The Magic Way shelter will be the city’s example shelter for review by the RTC to ensure it meets its expectations before the rest of the shelters are installed on Boulder Highway, Conner said.

“We’ll install that one at Magic, we’ll review it and make sure it’s right, then you’ll see them to slowly start going down the corridor,” Conner said.

Upgrades to the multiple intersections along the 7.5-mile stretch will also occur this year, with full depth removal and repaving required at each, Conner said.

“We have to do all of those to tie those (intersections) into the shelters,” Conner said.

The city will ask contractor Las Vegas Paving to begin buttoning up the south end of the project.

“I’d say at the end of the second quarter … we’re going to slowly start finishing a lot of the work, other than minor stuff, such as landscaping,” Conner said. “Starting at the south end of the job, moving north.”

Conner said the aim is create as little of a disruption to traffic as possible as the project moves along this year.

“The shelter installations themselves are in the median, so there’s going to be no impacts other than what they see today,” Conner said. “There will be minor disruptions (with the intersection upgrades) that we will coordinate with the media when they happen, but we expect those to be fairly quick. A few days at a time we’ll go through these intersections and replace them.”

The Reimagine Boulder Highway project is set for completion in 2027.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X. Send questions and comments to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com.