What's the latest with the HOV commuter lanes on the freeways? Last we heard, there was a campaign to get rid of them entirely. Has anything been decided on what to do next?
What we understand from recent coverage of this issue is that some higher-ups in state government, including the lieutenant governor, a former Las Vegas city councilman and Regional Transportation Commissioner and the current vice chairman of the state Transportation Board of Directors, want to see the HOV lanes eliminated entirely.
Apparently, the feds are involved at this point and a lot of money is involved, which greatly complicates the matter. A sizable percentage of the funding for Project Neon, the $1 billion multi-year upgrade of US93/95 and I-15, came with conditions concerning the carpool lanes. Will the federal government forgive that portion of the funding? (We're betting against.) And if not, how much will they want returned in order to extirpate the HOV lanes entirely?
There's another complication. Have you seen the new entrance to southbound I-15 on Harmon Avenue from the bridge over the freeway just west of the Cosmo and Aria? It enters the freeway in the far left HOV lane, but there aren't any occupancy restrictions for entering the freeway at that point.
As it stands, the state has put in an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation and is going through the process, but nothing has been definitively determined as to exsecting the HOV lanes completely. We're watching the process and will let you know when or if there's something to report.
For now, the carpool lanes are in effect 6-8 a.m. and 4-6 p.m., Monday through Friday, a far cry from the 24/7 restrictions when they were first introduced at the completion of Project Neon exactly five years ago
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Hoppy
Aug-18-2024
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Jetpilotrick
Aug-18-2024
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Bob W.
Aug-18-2024
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Deke Castleman
Aug-18-2024
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