What are those concrete columns going up on Green Valley Parkway near the 215 in Henderson?

If you’ve driven along Green Valley Parkway near the 215 Beltway in Henderson, you’ve probably seen concrete columns rising on both sides of the road south of the freeway.

The columns are the first visible portions of a pedestrian bridge that will be built over Green Valley Parkway as part of the larger $160 million 215 Beltway widening project between Pecos Road and St. Rose Parkway and Stephanie Street.

The entire project, which began in May 2025, is just shy of 50 percent complete and remains on budget, according to project engineer Kevie Remynse.

Plans call for expanding the freeway by two lanes in each direction between Pecos and Stephanie. That will increase capacity on the 215, from three lanes with an auxiliary lane in each direction to five lanes with an auxiliary lane in each direction.

On-ramps and off-ramps between Pecos and Stephanie will be upgraded, adding additional turn lanes at Pecos, Green Valley Parkway, Valle Verde Drive and Stephanie.

The project is aimed at reducing traffic at daily choke points on the beltway, especially during rush hours.

Green Valley Parkway bridge

On Green Valley Parkway, work on the pedestrian bridge is moving along, with substantial completion expected next year.

“The columns are currently coming out of the ground; you’ve probably seen some of those poured,” Remynse said. “The next steps, we are working on the ramp walls, getting those poured. So, the ramps will be going in right now. The actual bridge structure is expected to be delivered in March, (with) bridge substantially complete around April of next year.”

The bridge will allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross Green Valley Parkway between the two sides of the District at Green Valley Ranch shopping center without interacting with vehicle traffic below. It will allow continuity for those using the 215 Beltway Trail and improve traffic flow for vehicles.

There will be full directional closures of Green Valley Parkway early next year when workers set the bridge over the roadway.

“We can’t safely let vehicular traffic through when they’re setting that,” Remynse said. “We will work with the public outreach team and give as much notice as possible as well as some of our adjacent stakeholders in the area to make sure that we don’t hit it on a busy weekend.”

The overnight closures will occur in March or April, she noted.

Green Valley Parkway DDI

The Green Valley overpass above the 215 will be revamped from a standard intersection into a diverging diamond interchange (DDI).

The nonstandard intersection features weaving traffic lanes, allowing vehicles to turn left onto freeway on-ramps without stopping or affecting traffic.

Construction tied to the interchange is expected to begin in April, after work on the pedestrian bridge is wrapping up.

“Some of the restrictions we can expect for that would be a single lane in the overnight areas and then two lanes plus turn lanes during the day,” Remynse said. “And that’s just to keep the area safe for the public as they’re driving through that area. We’re going to try to limit the two-lane restrictions during the day as much as humanly possible, but there are going to be times where it is necessary to have that in place. “

Henderson already has one diverging diamond intersection at Horizon Drive and Horizon Ridge Parkway over Interstate 11. That interchange has been open since 2015.

“It allows traffic to flow easier through the intersection,” Remynse said. “It does cut down on some of the wait times. On top of that, for safety reasons, it does reduce some of the conflict points for the cars going through the intersection. And it allowed us to use the existing structure by modifying that intersection to a DDI. We didn’t have to tear down the entire structure.”

Pecos/St. Rose off-ramps

The added lane on both off-ramps from the 215 in both directions to Pecos/St. Rose should open by the end of the year.

Although the new lane on the off-ramp from 215 eastbound to St. Rose southbound has been paved, there is still some work in the area that needs to be done, mainly tied to median-island and surface improvements, before it can open to traffic.

“But we are getting closer on that one,” Remynse said.

Mainline 215

The good news for motorists who travel on the 215 within the project’s scope is that there are no planned closures for the mainline Beltway. There will be intermittent ramp closures, which has been the case since work began on the project.

“We do try to get at least a week’s notice, if possible,” Remynse said.

The upgraded 215 eastbound to Green Valley Parkway off-ramp should be substantially complete by the end of the year, with retaining walls about 97 percent complete and sound walls about 85 percent complete.

“As part of finishing up some of those retaining walls, we’re going to start or continue with our concrete paving. So currently, the crews are working in the Green Valley Parkway to Valle Verde portion of 215. They’re on the eastbound side. And while they’re placing that concrete paving over on the eastbound side, they’re working on grading and preparation of placing in that same area on the westbound side.”

“So, while we may not be able to open up the lanes as soon as that’s done,” Remynse added, “we would just have to have another restriction down the road at Valle Verde, that is a lot of great progress on the overall project.”

The added two lanes in each direction of the 215 will not open to traffic until the end of 2027, with substantial completion on the project set for March 2028, Remynse said.

“We’ll still have some punch-list items out there, so people may still see some cones on the road, but most of the big-ticket items will be completed at that time and open for users,” she said.