The next phase of Project NEON will begin on March 21 and it’s important that all Las Vegas motorists know exactly what it will entail. What the NDOT officials are calling “The Big Squeeze” is a phase of the project that will reduce U.S. Highway 95 to only two lanes in the area between Rancho Drive and the Spaghetti Bowl. The lane closure is anticipated to continue throughout the end of the year and will coincide with construction on nearby ramps and surface streets. Thank you to our friends at the Review Journal for breaking the story.
Project NEON is the largest public works project in Nevada history. It has been approved to widen 3.7 miles of Interstate 15 between Sahara and the Spaghetti Bowl. According to their website, 300,000 vehicles, or one-tenth of the state population, travel through this stretch of highway each day and that number is expected to double by 2035.
The project is aiming to improve the safety of all motorists while also reducing travel delays, improving air quality, and creating jobs for Nevada. Although it may hurt your commute in the months to come, when the construction is complete Las Vegas will have:
- Direct HOV connection between the U.S. 95 and the I-15
- Conversion of express lanes on the I-15 to HOV lanes
- New I-15 HOV interchange
- Reconstruction of the Charleston interchange
- MLK realignment with flyover at Charleston
- Grand Central Parkway extension to Industrial
Personal injury attorney (and downtown commuter) Edward M. Bernstein is committed to improving the safety of everyone on the road. Our office hopes that all motorists will exercise extra caution in the areas listed above for the remainder of Project NEON so that we may look forward to a more spacious and safer interstate in the near future!