Bright lights: This Las Vegas tunnel is getting a major upgrade

Driving through the Desert Inn arterial tunnel will soon be a brighter, smoother experience for drivers thanks to a nearly $9.2 million improvement project.

The nearly 30-year-old east-west thoroughfare, which sees nearly 37,000 vehicles travel on it per day, according to Nevada Department of Transportation data, is amid a six-month road project that will see the addition of several LED lights, replacing the aging lights that have been in place over the nearly 30 decades.

“That stretch of roadway was completed back in 1996 … so a lot of that infrastructure, the lighting, the conduit system, all of that infrastructure is outdated,” said Jonathan Morales, senior construction management inspector for Clark County. “To a point where a lot of the materials and components have been discontinued. So, our traffic department has been having a lot of problems keeping up with it.”

The scope of the work is on Desert Inn Road from where the tunnel runs underneath Las Vegas Boulevard to Paradise Road near the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Adjustable LED lighting

The entire lighting system is being updated with the latest LED configuration that allows variance of the lighting within the tunnel.

“Depending on the time of day or whether there’s cloud cover out, the lighting system will adjust so that it’s not glaring or dim, sort of what we’re seeing now,” Morales said.

Despite LED lighting being more vibrant, there are going to be more lights than before added in the tunnel, Morales said.

“You’ll notice these lights in the tunnel are quite jam-packed and it’s quite significant,” Morales said. “But it’s necessary for the illuminance of all these lights.”

The new lights have been fully installed on the eastbound side of the tunnel, with the westbound portion set to be completed in the next couple of weeks, Morales said. Once the lights are fully installed on both sides of the tunnel, they will be lit up and tested.

“We won’t have it (the new lights) activated probably for another month and a half,” Morales said. “That’s when we start doing our testing and adjustments of the lighting.”

Enhanced barrier median

The barrier median that separates east and westbound traffic is also being enhanced. The glare screens that have been attached to the top of the previous barriers have been removed, with the barriers being built higher.

“Similar to the lighting, the glare screens are becoming a maintenance issue,” Morales said. “Longevitywise they just weren’t sustainable and so these heightened barrier rails will allow for less maintenance costs and improved driver safety.”

Also lumped into the project is the addition of a pedestrian actuated flasher at Convention Center and Channel 8 drives.

“The pedestrian flasher was just activated last week to assist with pedestrian crossing at the convention center,” Morales said. “The nearest crossing is over on Las Vegas Boulevard and on Paradise. We’re seeing a lot more pedestrian traffic coming down from the resort corridor. So that was added for safety measures.”

Crews have been maintaining two lanes on each side of Desert Inn and a dedicated left turn lane onto Paradise on the eastbound side as work occurs on the project.

Repave coming

The biggest traffic impacts associated with the project are slated to begin this week, with Desert Inn going down to one lane overnight in each direction. The overnight work will be Sunday to Friday between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.

“Because we’re replacing all of the asphalt from about Paradise all the way up to Sammy Davis Jr.,” Morales said. “That (paving) will be ongoing for the next two to three weeks.”

The project kicked off in June and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

“I think the biggest thing is the lighting,” Morales said. “It’s a well-advanced system, the capabilities of this is going to significantly improve safety through that corridor and it’s going to be noticeable to the drivers. Once the roadway is resurfaced, I know the public is going to enjoy it very much.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X. Send questions and comments to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com.