Las Vegas Mayor Road Rages Against I-15 New Year’s Traffic
Posted on: January 3, 2023, 04:01h.
Last updated on: January 5, 2023, 01:42h.
After some Las Vegas tourists reported a 10-hour drive back to Southern California on Monday, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman called on the Golden State to live up to its promises and finish widening its portion of Interstate 15.
In a tweet posted Tuesday morning, Goodman wrote that “once again,” travelers spent “hours and hours” on the Interstate 15 as they tried to return home, a situation she called “intolerable.”
Goodman blamed California, saying the state “must step up and complete widening of I-15 between Stateline and Barstow.”
California completed the first phase of its widening in November, when it converted a one-mile stretch of the I-15’s south shoulder into a makeshift third lane south of the state line. That lane now opens on Sundays and Mondays and during high-volume holiday weekends.
It was hoped that this measure might improve traffic over New Year’s weekend. Previously, when Nevada’s three lanes went into California’s two, this created a reliable bottleneck at the border.
Clearly, It Didn’t Work
According to the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, an 18-mile, bumper-to-bumper snarl greeted Southern Californians attempting to return home on Monday afternoon, nearly tripling the usual 3.5-hour drive for some.
In Primm, cars who exited for a break from the traffic at Whiskey Pete’s told FOX5 Vegas they waited nearly a half hour just to exit the casino’s parking lot.
Indeed, California Gov. Gavin Newsom promised in December 2021 to widen five miles of the I-15, not just one.
When questioned by FOX5, a spokesperson for the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) said there were no details to share regarding when the remainder of the project would be completed.
California Angering 30% of Nevada’s Tourists
Of the 32 million visitors to Las Vegas in 2021, about 30% came from Southern California — the majority of whom drove on the I-15, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Even on a nothing-special weekend, what should be a 3.5 hour drive from Las Vegas to Los Angeles can take up to 7 because of congestion along the 113 miles of I-15 between Primm and Barstow. This gridlock is compounded by big rigs using the I-15 to return empty to Southern California’s ports after delivering food and other goods to Las Vegas and beyond.
Of course, mayors don’t have the authority to decide whether to add traffic lanes to major freeways. And that’s why Goodman tagged Caltrans, US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and White House senior advisor and infrastructure implementation coordinator Mitch Landreiu in her tweet.
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Last Comments ( 13 )
Trucks running in the fast lane IS illegal in California...has been for years! Is it enforced? No...it's primarily violated by truckers from other neighboring states and incompetent younger truckers. Yes, California hands out commercial licenses just like its class C driver's licenses.
The empty trucks coming into CA are not really the problem. It's the loaded trucks using the left lane and the STUPID CITING of the CA port of entry (agriculture check and scales). I drive truck. Empty trucks climb those hills @ 55mph easily enough. It's the loaded trucks @ 24-29 mph, who then decide to use the left lanes. The location of the scales was a horrible decision. You enter CA on a nice flat stretch of freeway (several miles long). They should have put the scales in this area. Instead they built it on a spot where you're going uphill. I have done this run several times. If the scales were about 2-3 miles back I'd have time to accelerate and climb the hill 50-55. Instead, I leave the scales on a hill and can NEVER get above 30. With heavy traffic you're lucky to get over 25.
For the love of God stop moving to Vegas.
Ha Ha Cali has Nancy taking care of them.
Trucks need to be banned from using the left lane on freeways in Nevada and California. These are state laws on the east coast and need to become state laws on the west coast. It slows down traffic. Get with it California and widen the I-15 between Primm and Barstow once and for all!
Whatever happened to the bullet train between LA and Vegas.
California should have constructed the bullet train from SoCal to Las Vegas, not Bakersfield to Madera. What a waste of billions of dollars! Hotels in Las Vegas now charge for parking so more of your hard-earned cash is disappearing the moment you arrive. Plus, the outrageous rates of $800 per night. . . Next time, when you can, Take the Train.
If California would remove their stupid outdated check point, we would not have even a quarter of the traffic problem! Talk about wasting gas, and impeding normal traffic flow, look to California!
I drive to LV from SW Colorado and this story makes me feel better about my 8 hour drive. If course, my gas bill is much bigger at 80 mph.
Every single time i see that garbage nonsense two lane highway as soon as the border is crossed im reminded how awful California is run. Cant wait until i can permanently move to Nevada.
This is why us tax payers paid these people and the Governor of California. A huge salary every year to make these decisions to improve the infrastructure. Apparently they have already spent the money that the federal government has given them on other projects. Otherwise this extra lane would have been completed by now. It seems like most elected officials can not be trusted at their word or promises.
The only way they are going to do anything is if the California's do something about it! They need to contact the people they voted in! While they are at it they need to get rid of the 55mph speed limit on truckers!
Everyone hates this drive more and more. I know we would visit Vegas more often if it wasn't for this traffic. My wife has a hard time getting Monday off. Sure ain't driving it on a Sunday. The slightest fender bender makes it a lot worse.