2 multiday closures slated for Charleston in downtown Las Vegas

A pair of multiday closures of portions of Charleston Boulevard that kick off next week are set to snarl traffic in downtown Las Vegas.

Charleston between Commerce Street and Grand Central Parkway will shut to traffic for nine days starting at 6 a.m. Monday, lasting until 6 a.m. May 1, the Nevada Department of Transportation announced Tuesday.

Additionally, the Charleston/Grand Central intersection will close to traffic from 8 p.m. April 26 until 6 a.m. May 1.

Drivers looking to access Charleston in the area are urged to take Charleston eastbound to Western Avenue southbound, to Wyoming Avenue eastbound, to Main Street northbound where they can reach Charleston and head east.

Motorists heading westbound who are looking to continue to Charleston westbound in the area can take Main northbound from Charleston westbound, to Bonneville Avenue westbound, to Martin Luther King Boulevard southbound where they can reach Charleston to continue westbound.

Drivers exiting Interstate 15 northbound to Charleston can still access the Alta Drive/Bonneville Avenue slip ramp while both closures occur, NDOT said.

The closures, associated with Project Neon’s nearly $1 billion 4-mile-long widening of Interstate 15 from the Spaghetti Bowl to Sahara Avenue, are needed for pavement work, installation of crash beam along Charleston at Union Pacific Railroad bridge (to protect the railroad bridge structure and utility lines), plus final intersection improvements as well as miscellaneous improvements.

New Charleston slip ramp

A new slip ramp being constructed from Charleston Boulevard to Martin Luther King Boulevard is nearing completion.

The ramp, beginning just as motorist heading east pass through the Shadow Lane intersection near the UNLV School of Medicine, will provide access to both north and south Martin Luther King, where a new traffic signal will be in place as the ramp opens in May.

The ramp only provides access from Charleston to Martin Luther King. Traffic traveling on Martin Luther King cannot use the ramp to access Charleston, Tony Illia, NDOT spokesman said.

Part of a project that began in December, Charleston is also being widened in the area from Shadow Lane to I-15, with the newly widened Charleston and the slip ramp expected to open in early May, Illia said.

Project Neon is 95 percent complete and slated for completion in May.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.