Expect to see more work on I-15 (sigh)

Those who believe construction along Interstate 15 is a pain now will cringe at news that it's only going to get worse.

Las Vegas Paving is prepared to break ground this spring on an extensive project that will include widening onramps and offramps, building bridges and constructing new frontage roads between Blue Diamond Road and Tropicana Avenue.

This work will coincide with the widening efforts north of the Spaghetti Bowl and south of Blue Diamond.

"It will pretty much be messed up from Craig Road all the way to stateline," Nevada Department of Transportation Director Susan Martinovich said Thursday. "This is not a bad thing."

Martinovich, with Gov. Jim Gibbons, emphasized that the road work will not only provide smoother commutes for Las Vegas residents and visitors, but the $246.5 million project will create hundreds of jobs.

"This is a very important day for the community," Gibbons said Thursday at a ceremony unveiling the entire project. "These kinds of projects are so important to the future of Las Vegas and to the economy."

It is also important to the tourism industry, added Rossi Ralenkotter, president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which is funding the bulk of the project through room taxes.

According to Ralenkotter's agency, each year about 8 million visitors from Southern California travel I-15 to Las Vegas, pumping about $10 billion into the economy. With the opening of CityCenter, Ralenkotter expects more traffic along the freeway.

"This is critical for our future; it's not only important to our visitors but to all of us who live in Las Vegas," he said.

The project will include widening the Warm Springs Road overpass to six lanes; constructing a four-lane Sunset Road overpass over the freeway and widening the Russell Road overpass. Also to be built is a new flyover from Blue Diamond east to I-15, a new ramp from the Las Vegas Beltway west to the frontage roads and auxiliary lanes leading up to the Silverado Ranch Road exit, which now backs up onto the freeway.

Corey Newcome, an engineer with Las Vegas Paving Corp., which won the bid to design and build the new infrastructure, said the project includes the modification or building of about 25 bridges along the interstate. Between 40 and 50 engineers have worked on the design for more than a year.

The project is a design-build project, which is a more expeditious method of completing a project than a design-bid-build job, Martinovich said. The same company designs and constructs the project, shaving about a year and a half off the time to finish the job. The I-15 work is expected to be completed in spring 2012.

Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904.