How Did the New Lanes on I-15 Work out over Thanksgiving Weekend?

How did the new lanes on I-15 work out over Thanksgiving weekend?

All in all, we'd have to say it wasn't bad on the Nevada side, but it was traffic as usual in California.

A little background. Slightly more than a year ago, right after Thanksgiving 2021, the governors of Nevada and California held a self-congratulatory news conference announcing "immediate relief" for the tens of thousands of drivers who sit in monumental traffic jams between Las Vegas and the California produce-inspection station after holiday weekends. Last year at its worst, the backup after Thanksgiving was 22 miles.

The "relief" to which Sisolak and Newsom were referring involved creating a third lane for six miles to mitigate the merging from three lanes to two at the state line and the roll up to the inspection station. It was, the governors admitted readily, a temporary solution to a long-term traffic problem. Earmarked to cost $12 million, it was a rounding error in the combined transportation budgets of the two states. A completion date of the end of the summer of 2022 was projected -- roughly nine months from announcement to smooth sailing.

So what happened? Not much.

Nevada, which has a long history of getting things done, including highway work, when it impacts the southern Nevada economy, completed its task of restriping a one-mile stretch just this side of the border, turning two lanes into three. The third lane was ready for the Thanksgiving traffic test.

California, on the other hand, hasn't done squat on its five-mile stretch. When Las Vegas Review-Journal transportation reporter Mick Akers queried Caltrans about a potential schedule, the response was, "The timing of opening a third southbound lane for five miles from the state line to the California Department of Food and Agricultural Station is still being determined.”

In other words, it's taken California more than a year to figure out the schedule for a highway project slated to take nine months. So far. There's no telling how much more time will be required.

As for traffic over Thanksgiving, Akers reported that the average backup of traffic returning to southern California that Sunday was 11 miles; the longest was 18 miles. That was less than the 18-mile average and 22-mile longest in 2021, but more cars traveled to and from last year.

On the other hand, according to the Southern Nevada Regional Transportation Commission, the third lane on the Nevada side "helped smooth out some of the usual weaving and merging, resulting in fewer stop-and-go scenarios than we typically see on busy holiday weekends.”

Our advice? Rather than waiting for California to figure out how long it will take to do a job that it congratulated itself for getting done in advance, and rather than sitting in all that infuriating traffic at the end of a vacation, take the alternative routes. You can see them detailed here.

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Comments

Sandra Ritter Dec-15-2022

Why Not Fly?

I've often wondered why these folks don't just fly in. Sitting in traffic all those hours?  Polluting the air?  They're going to LV to blow money anyway, why not fly?

IPA Noah Dec-15-2022

Flying

More expensive and jets are some of our biggest carbon emitters. I drive in from Denver, CO. Sometimes it just nice to have your own car in Vegas.

jeepbeer Dec-15-2022

CA has started

Drove thru there southbound yesterday – CA has paved and striped the shoulder for one mile south of the border, so potentially there are three lanes.  Let's see, one mile every thirteen months . . .

Brent Peterson Dec-15-2022

Carbon Emitters

I think 20 miles of idling cars emits quite a bit of carbon. Studies vary, but Jet fuel produces an average of 21.1 pounds of CO2 per gallon, while fuel for cars is 19.6.

In addition, the cost from Denver to Las Vegas by car is $870 given that the true cost of driving is much more than just gas. The average cost of driving a mile is 58-cents. It's 1500 miles round-trip from Denver to Las Vegas, so that's the $870 cost.

Costs for round-trip flights from Denver to Las Vegas are about $300 with Frontier coming in at under $100.

rokgpsman Dec-15-2022

Smoke 'em if you got 'em

Maybe when California mandates that all cars are electric the carbon emissions won't be an issue, the LA air will be smog-free and 20 miles of idling traffic will only be a time-waster, not a polluter, for everyone there on the road.

Kevin Lewis Dec-15-2022

Da plane! Da plane!

Unfortunately, when you factor in all the various steps you need to take to fly from LA to Vegas, it adds up to 6-8 hours--and then you have to rent a car. So that's why people drive, despite the congestion.

However, Vegas is on top of the problem! The casino powers that be are diligently striving to make a Vegas visit so unpleasant and unaffordable that soon, I-15 between Vegas and LA will be deserted!

gaattc2001 Dec-15-2022

Back around the turn of the century when I lived in Los Angeles...

I went to Las Vegas one or two weekends per month. Living in Covina, I could take the 210 to the 15, and didn't have to cross greater Los Angeles going or coming.
Traffic was very fast, especially between Barstow and Baker. It wasn't unusual to be close to 100 mph, just to avoid being rear-ended. The CHP reported writing numerous "triple-digit" tickets each week; but fortunately, I never got one.
I don't remember much difficulty leaving Las Vegas on the 15 in those days; but then I usually started back pretty early on Sunday afternoon. The problem was at the other end, when the Cajon Pass was sometimes closed due to brush fires, high winds, or traffic jams. Once it took 2-1/2 hours to get from Apple Valley to Covina. The saying was, "Always leave Victorville with a full tank and an empty bladder."
Now I'm in Phoenix and drive up from the South, but not for over two years now: Laughlin is two hours closer and they appreciate my business.
And Kevin is absolutely right, as usual.

Joseph Fink Dec-15-2022

Newsome's Paradise

Well, what would you expect from The Socialist California Republic?

Lotel Dec-15-2022

Why would Cailf. do it

California has nothing to gain help people leave their state and spend their entertainment  money in Nevada. Surprised California  does not narrow it down to one lane

AL Dec-15-2022

Comments + a doubt

1. I can't say for sure, but I have a hard time believing that groups of cars ever go 100 mph. Most people have never driven that fast, and to think about doing so seems intimidating because of the chance for crashing. I drove many, many trips to Vegas when I had a car, and I never saw entire groups of cars going faster than 80. But maybe it's true.
2. Widening the freeway to 3 lanes for only a few miles will not solve the problem. That freeway needs to be at least 3 lanes in each direction all the way through. That will be difficult because the freeway passes through a couple of land formations that are narrow. But it could be done for most of the route.
3. I don't know why everyone only talks about the trip home from Vegas to L.A. I once drove to Vegas on a Thanksgiving; there was a traffic jam where the feeder freeways merged to just I-15. I chose to abort, to drive east then north along the AZ state line. Took me 11 hours, but it was nicer than 11 hours being stuck in traffic.

Jetpilotrick Dec-17-2022

Concerned

Why is everyone so concerned about the poor Californians being in traffic jams??  They come here to play.  If they don’t want to be in the traffic, go somewhere else!  They know the traffic is going to be bad before they leave.  I know with all the Californians here, they certainly create a lot of unwanted traffic here in the valley. Tired of all the traffic problems they create!!

Question of the Day - 15 December 2022

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