The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC), Clark County and the city of Las Vegas, is improving U.S. 95 from Washington Avenue to Kyle Canyon Road in northwestern Las Vegas.
The U.S. 95 Northwest Corridor Improvements Project will add lanes on U.S. 95, construct Horse Drive and Kyle Canyon Road interchanges, and a system-to-system interchange between U.S. 95 and CC 215. The project also will add auxiliary lanes, as well as ramp metering, a park-and-ride facility and landscape and aesthetic improvements.
The project has been divided into five phases for construction, consistent with the timing and anticipated need for improvements. All phases will be complete by 2028. Funding for the corridor is mix of federal money, state, county and city funds.
Phase 1 runs from Washington Avenue to Ann Road. Capriati Construction of Henderson, Nev., began work on the $68 million project in August 2010, and the majority will be complete by late summer 2012. This is an NDOT/city of Las Vegas partnership project.
This phase includes widening U.S. 95 to include auxiliary lanes in each direction from Washington Avenue to Ann Road, and widening the Gowan Road Bridge. Interchange improvements, consisting of new entrance/exit ramps, are being made at Cheyenne Avenue, the Rancho/Ann Rd. interchange and Durango Drive. Finally, crews are constructing landscape and sound walls, and making general aesthetic improvements.
According to Capriati, crews will be excavating 177,890 cu. yds. (136,086 cu m) of roadway, and 109,525 cu. yds. (83,786.6 cu m) for structures. They will then place 331,590 tons (300,752 t) of aggregate base and 204,060 tons (185,082.4 t) of plant mix surface.
Phase 2 will cover I-95 from Ann Road to Kyle Canyon Road. The final design began in spring 2010, with construction projected to start in 2028 or earlier, depending on funding availability and increased development demand. This phase will focus on widening U.S. 95 to three general purpose lanes and auxiliary lanes in each direction.
Later this year, Phase 3 will begin. This project involves the U.S. 95/CC 215 Northern Beltway interchange and is a collaboration of NDOT, Clark County and the city of Las Vegas. The plan is to construct new ramps to complete a system-to-system interchange configuration at the U.S. 95/CC 215 Northern Beltway interchange.
Phase 4 was actually the first project in the series to be completed. A new service interchange was constructed on U.S. 95 at Horse Drive and opened for use in June 2011.
Another new service interchange will be built on U.S. 95 at Kyle Canyon Road in Phase 5, projected to begin construction in 2018.
Drivers on the northbound and southbound U.S. 95 will view metalwork of Mojave Desert plants on both the bridges and walls. The images are accentuated by a curving color band and then reinforced with curving dry-stacked stone walls seen in the interchange areas.
The Washington Avenue Bridge and walls, for example, will show metal graphics that transition the images between the Spaghetti Bowl and Rainbow Curve to the images and colors that define this corridor at the Ann Road intersection.
The goals of the entire U.S. 95 Corridor project are to decrease congestion, shorten commute times and improve freeway operations. With this being both a residential and commercial area, NDOT aims to accommodate projected local traffic and improve access to areas planned for development.
Today's top stories
