Heavy holiday traffic causing delays from Las Vegas into California, Arizona

Holiday travelers heading to California and Arizona after the New Year’s weekend may wish to explore alternate routes because of heavy traffic on southbound Interstate 15 and U.S. Highways 95 and 93.

In a tweet Monday afternoon, the Regional Transportation Commission warned travelers to prepare for major delays as southbound drivers were caught in a 26-mile backup on I-15 from south of Las Vegas into California.

To avoid the congestion in Primm, Nevada Highway Patrol’s Southern Command suggested on Twitter that drivers take state Route 160 northbound to state Route 372 southbound and get on the I-15 in Baker, California.

The heavy holiday traffic lasted well into Monday evening. The commission reported an improvement on southbound I-15 from “long delays” to “slow traffic” at 8 p.m. The intial 26-mile backup dwindled down to a 4-mile backup as of 8 p.m.

The commission also reported traffic delays on southbound U.S. 95/93 past College Drive through Boulder City. 

The Arizona Department of Transportation tweeted about heavy traffic on U.S. 93 southbound into Kingman.

Review-Journal Reporter Rio Lacanlale contributed to this story. Contact Rachel Hershkovitz at rhershkovitz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @rzhershkovitz on Twitter.