New truck stop latest addition to Interstate 11 highway expansion

Railroad Pass truck stop is getting a massive overhaul, adding a second truck stop that can accommodate more than 100 trucks along Interstate 11.

The $25 million dollar project, which is currently 75 percent complete and is being spearheaded by DeSimone Gaming, is approximately 12,000 square feet and called the Eldorado Truck Stop. It will be located west of Interstate 11, southeast of Henderson on the way to Hoover Dam.

In February another small part of I-11 — between the U.S. Highway 95 interchange and Railroad Pass Casino in Henderson — opened as part of a massive federal freeway project that’s expected to someday serve as a major trade route between the United States, Canada and Mexico. I-11 currently runs roughly from Henderson to the Nevada-Arizona border at the Hoover Dam.

“The Interstate 11 has propelled the growth and success of the Railroad Pass Travel Center and Hotel Casino,” said Joe DeSimone, who runs DeSimone Gaming. “I have all the confidence in the world that the Eldorado Travel Center, opening in a few months on the west side of Interstate 11, will have similar success.”

On a bigger scale, I-11 is expected to ease cross-border trade from the Mexico border to Canada by running through Arizona, Nevada and Idaho. Although the route will apparently take years or possibly decades to complete (and was originally part of the 2012 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act), the new freeway would also provide a much-needed direct link between Las Vegas and Phoenix — the only two cities in the U.S. with populations of more than 1 million people that are not linked by an interstate.

The Eldorado Truck Stop is either the first or last truck stop in southern Nevada for drivers heading north or south.

Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.