Project Neon’s next phase set to snarl traffic in Las Vegas

Just as the traffic nightmare wrought by Car-nado wraps up in late February, commuters passing through downtown Las Vegas should start preparing for the next phase for Nevada’s largest freeway infrastructure project.

U.S. Highway 95 will be reduced to two travel lanes in each direction between Rancho Drive and Interstate 15 from February through December, Dale Keller, the Nevada Department of Transportation’s project manager for Project Neon, told the Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday.

Drivers can also expect to see periodic closures along freeway ramps and surface streets, including Martin Luther King Boulevard.

And yes, NDOT officials are conjuring up another catchy nickname for the lengthy project.

The restrictions will allow crews to widen U.S. 95 as part of the larger Project Neon, the $1 billion effort to redesign and add traffic lanes along Interstate 15 from the U.S. Highway 95 interchange to Sahara Avenue.

“I think this is going to be a miserable couple of years,” Las Vegas Councilman Bob Beers said after hearing about the pending work.

More immediately, crews next week will start erecting 12 full-color electronic signs that will provide real-time information about accidents, lane restrictions and detours along I-15 and U.S. 95.

As a result, the carpool lanes along both directions of U.S. 95, between Decatur Boulevard and Rancho Drive, will be closed from 9 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. March 31, allowing crews to place foundation footings and concrete support columns for the new high-resolution digital signs, NDOT spokesman Tony Illia said.

The new Active Traffic Management signs will use a system of sensors lining the highways that will detect heavy congestion, car crashes, bad weather and other conditions that could impact traffic. The information will be relayed to the signs to adjust speed limits, aimed at reducing accidents and stop-and-go conditions for the 300,000 vehicles that travel daily between the Spaghetti Bowl and Sahara Avenue.

“It’s going to be a game-changer for this area,” Keller said.

The next round of work will start almost immediately after crews complete Car-nado, which prompted closures in October at I-15’s southbound and northbound ramps connecting to northbound U.S. Highway 95, along with freeway ramps to Martin Luther King Boulevard.

During that time, crews rebuilt a bridge over Martin Luther King Boulevard that connects northbound I-15 to northbound U.S. Highway 95, making room for a flyover ramp that will be designated for high-occupancy vehicles. Eventually, carpool lanes will run along I-15, between the Spaghetti Bowl interchange and Silverado Ranch Boulevard.

NDOT officials have yet to announce one more major freeway closure anticipated in 2018 before the overall construction for Project Neon wraps up in July 2019.

During his State of the State speech on Tuesday night, Gov. Brian Sandoval hailed Project Neon as one of his “top infrastructure priorities,” adding that he expects the work to be completed on time and within budget.

“It expands the state’s busiest stretch of highway and, once completed, Project Neon will improve the daily commute for our residents to enhance the travel experience for the millions of visitors who come to Las Vegas,” Sandoval said Tuesday night.

Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Find @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.