EDITORIAL: Motorists will get respite from Project Neon

The beleaguered Las Vegas motorist's most common beef is orange barrels squeezing traffic when no work is taking place at a road project.

But after the state's biggest and most important highway upgrade is well underway, the orange sea will part and travel lanes will open. It will be a welcome change in state highway construction policy.

On Monday, the Nevada Board of Transportation approved the next phase of Project Neon, the renovation of the Spaghetti Bowl in downtown Las Vegas and the widening and rebuilding of Interstate 15 from U.S. Highway 95 to Sahara Avenue. Kiewit Infrastructure West was awarded a $559 million contract and should start work by March. Some of that work will require lane closures out of necessity. That means traffic tie-ups in every direction, week after week.

Then, just in time for the holidays, drivers will get a reprieve. The contract requires all travel lanes in the Spaghetti Bowl to be open from Black Friday, the shopping bonanza that follows Thanksgiving, through the Sprint Cup race in March. The break of more than three months intentionally coincides with periods of heavy traffic and special events important to the Las Vegas economy, including the National Finals Rodeo and the Consumer Electronics Show.

That such a respite can be provided while still largely completing improvements to the state's busiest stretch of highway by the end of 2019 is good news for residents and visitors. Future highway improvements in Southern Nevada should provide similar periods of mercy as well.