New ramps nearly ready to aid access to Interstate 15

The first of what someday could be a series of new Interstate 15 ramps in the southern Las Vegas Valley will debut Monday with the partial opening of a new interchange at Silverado Ranch Boulevard.

Clark County officials that afternoon will open the onramp and offramp between northbound I-15 and Silverado Ranch, located between existing I-15 junctions at Blue Diamond Road and St. Rose Parkway.

The opening will follow a ceremonial ribbon-cutting scheduled for noon that day.

The onramp and offramp between southbound I-15 and Silverado Ranch won't open before the end of October, when the entire $38.7 million interchange project is expected to be finished.

Nonetheless, officials say they are pleased with the project's progress to date.

"This project will provide immediate relief to motorists in the southern part of the valley," County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury said in a prepared statement this week. "We wanted to open these new ramps now rather than waiting until October, when the full interchange will be completed."

The project originally was scheduled for completion in 2006, but delays pushed the date back.

That southern valley stretch of I-15 has been particularly traffic-jammed in recent years because of a combination of explosive residential growth, road work that has snarled traffic at Blue Diamond and St. Rose, and a general lack of ramps in the area.

Before the construction of the Silverado Ranch interchange, the nearly six miles of I-15 between Blue Diamond and St. Rose was the longest freeway stretch between interchanges in the valley.

Also, the reconstruction of the St. Rose interchange has resulted in frequent long-term ramp closures at that junction, while the widening of Blue Diamond -- also known as state Route 160 -- just west of I-15 has slowed traffic there.

The Silverado Ranch ramps also will benefit workers and guests at the South Point hotel-casino at Silverado Ranch and Las Vegas Boulevard, just east of I-15. Previously, the hotel lacked direct interstate access.

County plans call for other southern valley I-15 interchanges in the future at Pebble Road just north of Silverado Ranch and at Cactus Avenue, Starr Avenue and Bruner Avenue between Silverado Ranch and St. Rose.

But none of those projects has been designed, funded or scheduled to date.