Relief on horizon for I-11 congestion in Las Vegas

Commuters navigating the chokepoint that has become Interstate 11 west of downtown Las Vegas take heart: The project that has been causing congestion and frayed nerves could be coming to an end sooner than expected.

A Nevada Department of Transportation timeline shows that nearly 4 miles of high-occupancy vehicle lanes blocked off by the project are tentatively scheduled to be reopened sometime in September.

“They’re working as fast as they can,” Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony, who serves as vice chairman of the NDOT board of directors, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Monday. “This is a big priority for us. We know that’s a major corridor. So we’re working as quick as we can.”

At issue is the stretch of I-11 between the Spaghetti Bowl and Rainbow Boulevard targeted for a $22 million technology upgrade aimed at installing seven active traffic management signs on the freeway. The digital video boards, which were added to Interstate 15 with Project Neon, relay real-time traffic conditions, including adaptive speed limits, warnings on upcoming projects and crash and lane closure information.

The I-11 Safe Tech Corridor project has been underway since late May, with crews carrying out work that might not be evident to frustrated motorists left wondering why the carpool lanes are blocked off to begin with little obvious activity.

The HOV lanes have been shuttered so crews could drill the foundations for the dynamic sign gantries, make barrier improvements, store material and equipment and allow workers to safely carry out their jobs.

The project also involves a lot of trenching to improve the infrastructure that will supply power and operate the dynamic signs, Anthony said.

“We want people to be able to know when there’s an accident so they can get off the freeway or when they can merge,” said Anthony. “So, there’s a lot of technology upgrades that are going to be along that road that’s going to continue up I-11.”

A dozen wrong-way driver alert systems will be added at six interchanges along the portion of I-11, at Martin Luther King Boulevard, Rancho Drive, Valley View Boulevard, Decatur Boulevard, Jones Boulevard and Rainbow Boulevard. Two systems will be added at each of the six interchanges.

The project will also add two strategic traffic management sites for law enforcement and incident response purposes and add intelligent transportation systems infrastructure to support system integration and future traffic management plans.

The project will be deemed substantially complete during the first quarter of 2027, but the traffic management signs will not be installed until a year later during the first quarter of 2028. Dynamic message boards require a 40- to 50-week manufacturing and delivery time, according to NDOT’s project website.

Anthony said that he understands driver frustration with any road project, especially on area freeways, but he said the temporary restrictions will be worth the wait.

“People are going to be very happy when it’s completed,” Anthony said. “But it’s like any construction project anywhere in the world. There’s disruptions at the beginning and people are working as fast as they can. But it’s going to be a good project, and I know people are going to be happy with it.”