Street closures for New Year’s Eve

As sure as fountains of Skittles-colored fireworks will erupt from atop select resorts at the very stroke of midnight, Monday's annual New Year's Eve bacchanalia on the Strip begins with something quite mundane.

Closing down roads.

You know the drill: As Las Vegas Boulevard, from just south of Tropicana Avenue to south of Sahara Avenue, becomes West Coast Party Central for a liquored-up sea of holiday revelers, its cross streets must be closed to vehicle traffic. The following is the order of the closures:

■ 5 p.m.: Interstate 15 eastbound offramps at Tropicana, Flamingo and Spring Mountain roads.

■ 5:45 p.m.: All other streets, roads and alleys leading onto Las Vegas Boulevard between Sahara and Russell Road.

■ 6:30 p.m.: Las Vegas Boulevard.

Additionally, as the Strip opens to the public at 6:30 p.m., all moving walkways, elevators and escalators leading to or crossing Las Vegas Boulevard will be shut down. They will resume operation at 12:15 a.m. on New Year's Day.

For those needing to cross the Strip on New Year's Eve, Sahara as well as Russell and Desert Inn roads will remain open.

Eastbound and westbound routes across the Strip should reopen by 3:30 a.m., or as soon as Las Vegas Boulevard at the respective intersections has been cleaned. Street sweepers, working from south to north, will begin cleaning up the Strip at approximately 2 a.m.

For local partygoers looking to directly access the Strip on New Year's Eve, the Las Vegas Monorail will feature $1 rides.

To receive the local fare, Nevada residents must present a valid state picture identification at the monorail's service booths located at the MGM Grand Underground entrance or Sahara Avenue stations. The booths will be open from 11 a.m. New Year's Eve until 1 a.m. New Year's Day.

Locals can purchase a maximum of two single-ride tickets per valid ID. Trains will arrive every few minutes at each of the monorail's seven stations.

Meanwhile, for those planning to celebrate downtown at the Fremont Street Experience, street closures include: Casino Center, Fourth Street and Fremont, between Las Vegas Boulevard and Sixth Street.

Closures will begin around noon on New Year's Eve. Streets will reopen at 5 a.m. on New Year's Day.

The Fremont Street Experience will be closed to the public at 5 p.m., but will reopen at 6 p.m. for holiday celebrants.