Think ahead to get from I-15 to Beltway

Exactly one week ago, the Nevada Department of Transportation pulled a dirty trick, moving our trusty exits from Interstate 15 to Interstate 215 and thrusting us onto a two-lane road less traveled. Well, never traveled, before last Wednesday.

Motorists were up in arms, calling the transportation division, the newspaper, anybody who would listen to their frustrations about exiting the freeway at Russell Road -- about 1½ miles from the original exit to Interstate 215 -- to access the frontage roads and eventually I-215. They were none too happy. After all, engineers monkeyed with one of this city's busiest interchanges, throwing all us of for an unfamiliar loop. And on Hump Day of all days. Sheesh.

We are dedicating this column to questions related to the changes.

The beginning of Jay's email to me says it all: Is this NDOT's idea of a joke?

He goes on to ask: How is there only one lane for traffic heading to either 215 westbound or the 215 eastbound from the new frontage road along I-15? No wonder there was a wreck that closed the highway the other day. If they are going to spend all this money on these fancy roadways, shouldn't they at least be made it spend it correctly?

The one-lane stretch of the frontage road that Jay is referring to is immediately after the split to Interstate 215 east and west, and it is only a few hundred feet long before opening up to two lanes. I didn't drive it during rush hour traffic, but it seemed to move slowly in midmorning. This is a temporary configuration until Warm Springs Road and bridge over Interstate 15 is completed. Las Vegas Paving officials, the general contractor on the project, said they didn't want to make the ramps two lanes and then take it away and cause more confusion.

I know, I know, speaking of the Warm Springs Bridge ...

We recently addressed this, but it's worth revisiting. Some design flaws threw the construction of the new Warm Springs Road Bridge off big time. The entire four-lane bridge was supposed to be open by now. Residents in the south can expect at least a one-lane span to open in May.

And, speaking of funding:

This $250 million project is being funded by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Senate Bill 595 allowed room tax revenue to be bonded through the authority. The agency lobbied for the project because more than 30 percent of Las Vegas tourists drive from Southern California. The idea is for Interstate 15 to be freed up for traffic traveling through Las Vegas and the frontage roads reserved for tourists visiting the Strip or employees who work there.

Now that we have to get off Interstate 15 at Russell Road to access Interstate 215, will they shorten the express lanes so we can move over in time to exit?

Transportation engineers anticipated this problem and moved the express lanes back so they are about 3,600 feet from the new exit point. For every lane on a freeway, engineers are required to provide 1,000 feet of travel to maneuver across the highway. So, the minimum requirement here would have been 3,000 feet. Now you have 600 extra feet to escape the double white lines and figure out where the heck you are headed.

It's difficult enough for regular commuters to navigate the new road system, how do you inform seasonal residents or visitors of these major changes?

The Department of Transportation is contacting GPS companies to update their software and include the new access to Interstate 215.

We know how motorists responded verbally to the reconfiguration, but how did they adjust to the new commute while on the road?

Brian Hoeft, chief of the Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation, monitored traffic flow Wednesday when the new arterials opened up. He said most of the backup was seen on the Interstate 215 east exit to Las Vegas Boulevard because motorists missed the ramp to I-215 west from I-15, ended up on I-215 east and were trying to turn around. No accidents serious enough to cause congestion were reported.

"The first day you're always going to have a lot of people missing it," Hoeft said. "It brought it to the forefront of people's attention. People have definitely gotten used to that."

How many motorists use this new ramp to the arterial road?

Hoeft said he estimates about 2,000 vehicles per hour get off Interstate 15 at the Russell Road exit, where the frontage roads are accessed.

Why was so much money spent on landscaping and the metal sculptures?

The federal government strongly recommends that 3 percent of the total cost of a road construction project be spent on aesthetics. According to Susan Martinovich, director of the Nevada Department of Transportation, when freeways are landscaped, people are less likely to litter and the amount of graffiti decreases.

The state department spends more than 60 percent of its maintenance budget on picking up garbage and cleaning up graffiti, so it save a ton of money in the long run.

OK, somewhat helpful information, but here is a most important question: When will this finally be completed?

The target is this summer.

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