The nearly $1-billion, 3.7-mile-long widening of Interstate 15 in downtown Las Vegas, dubbed Project Neon, may not have the flashy lights of the Strip, but it has its own cachet as the state of Nevada’s largest and most expensive public works project. A sweeping 2,606-ft-long, 81-ft-tall flyover bridge, portions of which were included as part of a major project phase that finished in November two months ahead of schedule, highlights the design-build project’s progression toward the halfway mark after just one year of construction.
Project Neon will improve the busiest stretch of highway in Nevada. With 300,000 vehicles daily—or one-tenth of the state population—and seeing 25,000 lane-changes per hour, the stretch of highway experiences about three auto accidents a day, says NDOT spokesman Tony Illia. Traffic through the corridor is expected to double by 2035. The upgrade will connect carpool lanes on U.S. Highway 95 to the Interstate 15 express lanes with that signature flyover bridge. The project will also create direct access carpool ramps, a new interchange called Neon Gateway, reconstruct the Charleston Boulevard interchange and extend Grand Central Parkway over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.