Freeway Service Patrol work on Las Vegas roads heats up

Although kept busy throughout the year, the Freeway Service Patrol’s work heats up along with the triple-digit summer temperatures.

From June 3 to July 28, the service patrol responded to 449 overheating calls, hitting a peak of 66 the week of June 24-30, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation.

With any kind of weather change, Freeway Service Patrol mitigations will also change.

The service patrol saw 36,436 mitigations last year, led by disabled vehicles (17,987), scene safety (7,189) and abandoned vehicles (3,862).

Eighty-two percent of Las Vegas mitigations are cleared in 15 minutes or less, according to NDOT spokesman Tony Illia.

“This is important because according to Federal Highway Administration data, every minute that a travel lane is blocked, it takes four minutes for the congestion to dissipate and the probability of secondary incidents increases by 2.8 percent,” he said.

The service patrol has 11 designated patrol routes (eight during weekdays and three during weekends) where response vehicles travel U.S. Highway 95 from the 215 Beltway to Wagon Wheel Road and Interstate 15 from Craig Road to State Route 160, 5 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. seven days a week.

State Farm provides almost $330,000 in annual sponsorship to fund the Freeway Service Patrol, allowing NDOT to fund the other vital transportation programs. Thanks to that, the service patrol is free of charge.

Motorists cannot call the Freeway Service Patrol for help, but patrol drivers will help any driver in need they encounter.

Project Neon closures

The ribbon will be cut and the nearly $1 billion Project Neon — the 4-mile-long upgrade of I-15 from the Spaghetti Bowl to Sahara Avenue — will officially be over Thursday.

But before you break out your party hat, there’s one more round of road restrictions that motorists will have to navigate this week.

Tuesday evening-Wednesday morning

The U.S. Highway 95 northbound ramps to Interstate 15 north and southbound will close to traffic from 10 p.m. Tuesday until 5 a.m. Wednesday, NDOT reported.

The Casino Center Boulevard ramp to U.S. 95 northbound will also be closed from 9 p.m. Tuesday until 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Wednesday evening-Thursday morning

The I-15 southbound off-ramp to Charleston Boulevard will be closed to traffic from 10 p.m. Wednesday until 5 a.m. Thursday.

Thursday evening-Friday morning

Hours after the celebration for the grand finale of Project Neon, another closure will go into place.

The Charleston on-ramp to I-15 southbound will be closed to traffic from 10 p.m. Thursday until 5 a.m. Friday.

Friday evening-Saturday morning

The high occupancy vehicle ramp from I-15 northbound to U.S. 95 northbound will be closed to traffic.

Main Street disruptions

Activity related to the construction of the Circa hotel in downtown Las Vegas will lead to over two months’ worth of travel disruptions.

Construction material delivery and staging for the project slated to open in December 2020 will lead to 24-hour lane restrictions on Main Street between Carson and Ogden avenues beginning Monday and lasting until Nov. 1.

At least one lane in each direction will be open at all times during the 24-hour closures.

To avoid traffic congestion, officials suggest motorists use Las Vegas Boulevard, Fourth Street (northbound), Casino Center Boulevard or Grand Central Parkway as alternate routes.

Residents or businesses with concerns during the impacted time can call the barricade company at 702-241-5782 or the contractor at 702-287-4515.

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