Get ready to feel impacts of ‘Dropicana’

Traffic is reduced to two lanes on northbound I-15 as the Tropicana Avenue bridge exits are closed on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, in Las Vegas. The closures are part of the $305 million Interstate 15-Tropicana Interchange project. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @ellenschmidttt

Signs along northbound I-15 warn motorists that the Tropicana Avenue bridge exits are closed on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, in Las Vegas. The closures are part of the $305 million Interstate 15-Tropicana Interchange project. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @ellenschmidttt

The Tropicana Avenue exit is closed as workers demolish the bridge, on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, in Las Vegas. The closures are part of the $305 million Interstate 15-Tropicana Interchange project. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye Las Vegas Review-Journal) @btesfaye

The Tropicana Avenue exit is closed as workers demolish the bridge, on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, in Las Vegas. The closures are part of the $305 million Interstate 15-Tropicana Interchange project. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye Las Vegas Review-Journal) @btesfaye

Traffic is reduced to three lanes on northbound I-15 as the Tropicana Avenue bridge exits are closed, on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, in Las Vegas. The closures are part of the $305 million Interstate 15-Tropicana Interchange project. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye Las Vegas Review-Journal) @btesfaye

The Tropicana Avenue exit is closed as workers demolish the bridge, on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, in Las Vegas. The closures are part of the $305 million Interstate 15-Tropicana Interchange project. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye Las Vegas Review-Journal) @btesfaye

Tuesday night marked the start of what the Nevada Department of Transportation is calling “Dropicana,” alluding to the demolition of the Tropicana bridge that is part of the $305 million I-15-Tropicana interchange project.

Tropicana Avenue ramp closures began at 9 p.m. Tuesday with the Interstate-15 southbound off-ramps to eastbound and westbound traffic closing for multiple months. The ramp to westbound Tropicana will close through September while the flyover ramp to eastbound Tropicana is set to close through the summer of 2024.

During the closure of the I-15 southbound to Tropicana off-ramps, the Department of Transportation recommends motorists exit the freeway at Flamingo Road to the north or Russell Road to the south. Locals can use the 215 Beltway to commute from the Las Vegas Valley’s west side.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.