Residents sound off on Interstate 15 and Cactus Avenue interchange in Las Vegas

Southwest Las Vegas resident Charity Waxen hates sitting in traffic.

"That's ironic if you live in Las Vegas," she said, "e specially in the southwest, because that's all we do."

Waxen commutes to the downtown area every day from her home in Southern Highlands and said she's growing increasingly frustrated with the traffic jams, specifically at the Silverado Ranch Boulevard on-ramp to Interstate 15. In the next few years, however, that is likely to change.

People like Waxen got some good news June 9 when the Nevada Department of Transportation held a public meeting at John R. Hummel Elementary School, 9800 Placid St., to get the word out about the department's Cactus Avenue Interchange project, a component of the improvements under way in the southwest part of the valley via the I-15 Interchange project.

"We are working to get ahead of what promises to be a huge mess by 2013 if we weren't creating a new interchange at Cactus Avenue," Senior Project Manager Eduardo Miranda said. "The traffic getting on and off the highway at Silverado Ranch Boulevard is already a problem, and it promises to only get worse."

The project is due to break ground next summer and will transform Cactus Avenue from a one-lane road to a six-lane interchange from Dean Martin Drive to Las Vegas Boulevard. Miranda said the project could cost from $68 million to $84 million and will be funded by federal and local money. The price tag includes engineering, design and construction.

Miranda said the new interchange is projected to be complete in late 2013 and will alleviate a lot of congestion in the southwest, where there currently are only three interchanges in a six-mile stretch.

"This will make travel from east to west much smoother, and it will help with the overall regional transportation system," he said.

A dozen people showed up for the meeting, including southwest-area resident Pannee Mc Mackin, who owns 10 acres of land at Cactus Avenue and Interstate 15. She said she is very happy about the development.

Las Vegas resident Ron Werksman said he and his family live near Cactus Avenue, and they are concerned about the amount of traffic the interchange will direct near their neighborhood.

"I came today because I'm concerned about what this could do to our overall lifestyle," he said. "I'm reserving judgment until I learn a bit more about the plans and time frames, but I wanted to hear from the horse's mouth what they have planned."

NDOT public information officer Michelle Booth said she realizes that construction can be a frustrating experience for both nearby residents and motorists but promises the end result will be beneficial.

"Sometimes we have to cut traffic down to one lane, which causes delay, and I understand how that can be annoying," she said. "But this will be well worth it."