Nevada

[dbz77]

Let's be honest, Vegas legislators already have issue with anything being done or considered up here in the north.
But yeah, I don't see late 2020's being realistic either.

There are not any major cities to the west and south of that junction for at least 30 miles, and no city with over 100,000 people for 130 miles. Most people tolerate a signalized intersection there due to it being an endpoint of a freeway.

[roadfro]

Sorta cross-posting from US/State Mix-Up thread:

I came across a rare instance of a mix-up in using a US highway shield for a NV state route shield a few months ago, but wasn't in a position to get a picture and haven't been back out that way...but now Street View has caught up.

Street name sign along SR 445/Pyramid Hwy at Dolores Dr in Sparks

The unusual factor here, beyond accidentally using the US highway shield instead of a NV shield, is that putting highway shields on street name signs (standard or backlit signs at signals) is not common practice by any agency in Nevada. Usually you just see the road name or "SR ###"/"US ###" written in text (or occasionally both).

Has anyone seen any other instances of a highway shield being used on a street name sign elsewhere in Nevada?

[US 395]

Let's be honest, Vegas legislators already have issue with anything being done or considered up here in the north.
But yeah, I don't see late 2020's being realistic either.

There are not any major cities to the west and south of that junction for at least 30 miles, and no city with over 100,000 people for 130 miles. Most people tolerate a signalized intersection there due to it being an endpoint of a freeway.

Yeah but that doesn't mean that it should remain as is. We folks up north would like to see our tax contributions go to our stuff too, not just have it funneled down to Vegas for their stuff.

[US 395]

Sorta cross-posting from US/State Mix-Up thread:

I came across a rare instance of a mix-up in using a US highway shield for a NV state route shield a few months ago, but wasn't in a position to get a picture and haven't been back out that way...but now Street View has caught up.

Street name sign along SR 445/Pyramid Hwy at Dolores Dr in Sparks

The unusual factor here, beyond accidentally using the US highway shield instead of a NV shield, is that putting highway shields on street name signs (standard or backlit signs at signals) is not common practice by any agency in Nevada. Usually you just see the road name or "SR ###"/"US ###" written in text (or occasionally both).

Has anyone seen any other instances of a highway shield being used on a street name sign elsewhere in Nevada?

I have not. That's a first for me. It's one thing for the highway name to be rendered in text on street signs but not as a shield. I wonder if NDOT will go back to fixing the wrong shields...

[dbz77]

Let's be honest, Vegas legislators already have issue with anything being done or considered up here in the north.
But yeah, I don't see late 2020's being realistic either.

There are not any major cities to the west and south of that junction for at least 30 miles, and no city with over 100,000 people for 130 miles. Most people tolerate a signalized intersection there due to it being an endpoint of a freeway.

Yeah but that doesn't mean that it should remain as is. We folks up north would like to see our tax contributions go to our stuff too, not just have it funneled down to Vegas for their stuff.

I suspect most people would prefer to have that money spent on making improvements to the Reno spaghetti bowl, or improving freeway access to Reno-Tahoe Airport, or converting some interchanges in Reno to DDI's, instead of removing one stoplight on the way to Minden.

[US 395]

Let's be honest, Vegas legislators already have issue with anything being done or considered up here in the north.
But yeah, I don't see late 2020's being realistic either.

There are not any major cities to the west and south of that junction for at least 30 miles, and no city with over 100,000 people for 130 miles. Most people tolerate a signalized intersection there due to it being an endpoint of a freeway.

Yeah but that doesn't mean that it should remain as is. We folks up north would like to see our tax contributions go to our stuff too, not just have it funneled down to Vegas for their stuff.

I suspect most people would prefer to have that money spent on making improvements to the Reno spaghetti bowl, or improving freeway access to Reno-Tahoe Airport, or converting some interchanges in Reno to DDI's, instead of removing one stoplight on the way to Minden.

To be fair, NDOT is looking at a total 20 year timeline for Reno Spaghetti Bowl improvements. I highly doubt a few million bucks for a SPUI will help speed up construction.
It would be nice to see another set of ramps for the airport for to/from South Reno/Carson City traffic but I wouldn't know on how they would go about to constructing them. There isn't much room around the existing ramps.

The SPUI wouldn't remove the light for Minden-bound traffic. But it would be beneficial for Tahoe-bound traffic. No stopping required.

[Plutonic Panda]

^^^ why can't they issue bonds to help speed it up?

[cl94]

Carson City and Washoe County are entirely different pots of funding, because each has its own MPO. Spaghetti Bowl is mostly MPO funding, a decent amount of which comes from Washoe County's admittedly high gas tax. Carson Area MPO doesn't have the funding to do both that interchange and other necessary projects.

Speaking as somebody who uses that intersection frequently, an interchange is not a necessity at this time. It would be nice, sure, but having a signal there serves a purpose and backups that take more than one cycle to clear are not common. There are also benefits to metering Tahoe-bound traffic.

Excluding SBX (technically its own thing), the Spaghetti Bowl project is 15 years. That would be long if it was just a single interchange, but it isn't. The project covers a reconstruction/widening of both 80 and 580/395 for several miles, including the Nugget Viaduct and lots of ramp braiding. And NDOT wants to do it all with minimal lane reductions. Projects of this scale taking over a decade is not uncommon.

[kernals12]

Groundbreaking ceremony next week for widening of I-15 south of Las Vegas.

Widening I-15 from six to eight general-purpose lanes between Sloan Road and St. Rose Parkway
Widening and restriping I-15 from six to 10 general-purpose lanes between St. Rose Parkway and Blue Diamond Road
Adding a High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane in each direction between St. Rose Parkway and Blue Diamond Road
Resurfacing bridges and pavement preservation at the Blue Diamond Interchange
Construction of 10 new sound walls near residential areas throughout the corridor

[Mark68]

I assume this is a prerequisite for building the new airport they're planning between Jean & Primm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Nevada_Supplemental_Airport

[kernals12]

I assume this is a prerequisite for building the new airport they're planning between Jean & Primm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Nevada_Supplemental_Airport

I did not know about that, that probably is the reason they're making it so wide

Also, pretty awesome that they're building a new airport, that's not something that happens often, I think the last one in this country was Denver in 1995.

[roadfro]

I assume this is a prerequisite for building the new airport they're planning between Jean & Primm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Nevada_Supplemental_Airport

I did not know about that, that probably is the reason they're making it so wide

Also, pretty awesome that they're building a new airport, that's not something that happens often, I think the last one in this country was Denver in 1995.

The widening of I-15 was planned to happen regardless of whether the Ivanpah Valley airport gets constructed or not. This is primarily due to increasing development in the south valley: the south end of Southern Highlands and primarily the westward expansion of Henderson around Via Inspirada and that area. Widening the freeway to the Sloan exit (along with recent and planned interchanges at Cactus, Starr, Via Inspirada, et al) accommodates that projected growth, although it may also ultimately be beneficial if the airport is built.

Clark County Department of Aviation has been talking about building an airport out in Ivanpah Valley for at least 20 years. The idea being that McCarran Harry Reid Airport is landlocked and has no room for additional runways nor new facilities (after completing the multi-phase D gate concourse and constructing what is now known as Terminal 3), and is projected to reach capacity in the not-too-distant future. Reaching capacity was originally projected to happen about 10 years ago, but travel slowdowns from 9/11 and the recession slowed down air growth for a while.

I know this is veering off topic... but I'm still somewhat skeptical that this airport 20+ miles outside of town will be helpful for relieving general passenger travel without some kind of additional transportation infrastructure. No locals or visitors because will want to drive that far to a new airport when the existing airport, which isn't going anywhere, is right in the middle of town. However, if the Brightline train has a stop at the new airport, then that may provide some transport alternatives to get passengers to/from that airport. Otherwise, I see the new airport really only being better for freight. They'd be better off making more of the smaller private/charter planes use the Henderson Executive or North Las Vegas airports instead in order to increase capacity at Harry Reid.

[Mark68]

I assume this is a prerequisite for building the new airport they're planning between Jean & Primm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Nevada_Supplemental_Airport

I did not know about that, that probably is the reason they're making it so wide

Also, pretty awesome that they're building a new airport, that's not something that happens often, I think the last one in this country was Denver in 1995.

And for a similar reason--Denver's old Stapleton Airport was landlocked and there was no capacity available, thus DIA being built in the middle of nowhere.

[kernals12]

I assume this is a prerequisite for building the new airport they're planning between Jean & Primm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Nevada_Supplemental_Airport

I did not know about that, that probably is the reason they're making it so wide

Also, pretty awesome that they're building a new airport, that's not something that happens often, I think the last one in this country was Denver in 1995.

The widening of I-15 was planned to happen regardless of whether the Ivanpah Valley airport gets constructed or not. This is primarily due to increasing development in the south valley: the south end of Southern Highlands and primarily the westward expansion of Henderson around Via Inspirada and that area. Widening the freeway to the Sloan exit (along with recent and planned interchanges at Cactus, Starr, Via Inspirada, et al) accommodates that projected growth, although it may also ultimately be beneficial if the airport is built.

Clark County Department of Aviation has been talking about building an airport out in Ivanpah Valley for at least 20 years. The idea being that McCarran Harry Reid Airport is landlocked and has no room for additional runways nor new facilities (after completing the multi-phase D gate concourse and constructing what is now known as Terminal 3), and is projected to reach capacity in the not-too-distant future. Reaching capacity was originally projected to happen about 10 years ago, but travel slowdowns from 9/11 and the recession slowed down air growth for a while.

I know this is veering off topic... but I'm still somewhat skeptical that this airport 20+ miles outside of town will be helpful for relieving general passenger travel without some kind of additional transportation infrastructure. No locals or visitors because will want to drive that far to a new airport when the existing airport, which isn't going anywhere, is right in the middle of town. However, if the Brightline train has a stop at the new airport, then that may provide some transport alternatives to get passengers to/from that airport. Otherwise, I see the new airport really only being better for freight. They'd be better off making more of the smaller private/charter planes use the Henderson Executive or North Las Vegas airports instead in order to increase capacity at Harry Reid.

Expanding service at either of those two airports will invite lots of complaints and lawsuits from people living nearby and could wind up interfering with operations at Harry Reid.

[roadfro]

Nevada's next DDI is in the works...and it's replacing a SPUI!

Don't get it twisted: Diverging diamond interchange coming to Henderson road, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Feb 5, 2024

Another freeway interchange in Henderson is scheduled to be transformed into a somewhat controversial design.

Plans call for Green Valley Parkway over the 215 Beltway to be converted into a diverging diamond interchange.

Diverging diamond interchanges (DDI) allow vehicles to turn left onto freeway on-ramps without stopping and without conflicting with through traffic. The uncommon setup will cross over to the left (or opposite) side of the roadway, with traffic signals set up to safely guide traffic at each crossover.

In addition, a pedestrian bridge is planned for construction over Green Valley Parkway, connecting both sides of the District at Green Valley Ranch shopping and retail spaces.

"The interchange here at Green Valley Parkway, which has a lot of congestion, and the DDI and the conjunction of a pedestrian bridge at Village Walk provided the best alternative for traffic," said Brooke Prescia, project engineer II for the city of Henderson.

The Dollar Loan Center arena is also located just south of the 215, at the intersection of Green Valley and Paseo Verde parkways. On busy event nights, such as Henderson Silver Knights games, the already busy road gets even more congested. That's why adding a DDI makes sense at Green Valley Parkway, as opposed to Valle Verde, which is one exit to the east on the 215, according to Prescia.
<...>
The addition of the DDI and the pedestrian bridge are part of the planned $111 million 215 widening project. That includes widening the beltway between Pecos Road and Stephanie Street. Two lanes will be added in each direction on the stretch of the busy 215.

Ramp improvements at Valle Verde and Stephanie also are part of the project that is planned to break ground later this year.
<...>

I'll be interested to see how they design this DDI, particularly how much they can take advantage of the existing SPUI layout.

Also a tidbit about future I-215 widening in there at the end.

[Plutonic Panda]

Wow that's interesting. Is that interchange even 15 years old? At any rate it'll be nice to have 2 extra lanes each way on I-215. Vegas could double its size and still have less traffic than Portland, OR because one actually widens its roads to keep up with demand lol.

[Sub-Urbanite]

Wow that's interesting. Is that interchange even 15 years old? At any rate it'll be nice to have 2 extra lanes each way on I-215. Vegas could double its size and still have less traffic than Portland, OR because one actually widens its roads to keep up with demand lol.

Believe it or not, that segment of 215 opened 25 years ago.

[Plutonic Panda]

Wow that's interesting. Is that interchange even 15 years old? At any rate it'll be nice to have 2 extra lanes each way on I-215. Vegas could double its size and still have less traffic than Portland, OR because one actually widens its roads to keep up with demand lol.

Believe it or not, that segment of 215 opened 25 years ago.

Wow, that's much older than I thought. I wasn't aware they were building SPUIs that long ago.

[Scott5114]

Vegas could double its size and still have less traffic than Portland, OR because one actually widens its roads to keep up with demand lol.

It is kind of amazing how much better traffic flows in Las Vegas than in the OKC area, despite how much larger Las Vegas is, just because of competent signal timing and most major arterials being 6 lanes instead of 4 with 45 mph speed limits. In Norman, I'd gripe about having to go to the other side of Porter, but I don't even think twice about going twice that distance here because it's effortless.

[Plutonic Panda]

Vegas could double its size and still have less traffic than Portland, OR because one actually widens its roads to keep up with demand lol.

It is kind of amazing how much better traffic flows in Las Vegas than in the OKC area, despite how much larger Las Vegas is, just because of competent signal timing and most major arterials being 6 lanes instead of 4 with 45 mph speed limits. In Norman, I'd gripe about having to go to the other side of Porter, but I don't even think twice about going twice that distance here because it's effortless.

Yep and OKC also has too many aggressive drivers but not in a way like big city types. In OKC they drive slow and purposely block you because they have this "it's my lane" mentality. In Vegas in particular people are more relaxed and just go with the flow. Couple with everything else you pointed out traffic flows so much better.

[pderocco]

Odd coincidence: I just drove through that SPUI today. And I don't live anywhere near there.

In flat desert areas, they usually plan roads well in advance, including reserving sufficient ROW. It's interesting to see the evolution of CR-215 around Vegas, in the Google Earth historical imagery. In older cities (Vegas may be an old town, but it's a comparatively new city) it's much harder, for obvious reasons. It's also harder in places like Portland or San Francisco that have extreme geographic constraints.

[SSR_317]

In Vegas in particular people are more relaxed and just go with the flow.

Are you kidding? Las Vegas drivers in my experience are extremely erratic and quite aggressive. I theorize it's because most aren't originally from Sin City (be they tourists or locals) and seem to have brought the WORST driving habits from their original locales with them to southern Nevada. Of course your experience may vary.

[Plutonic Panda]

In Vegas in particular people are more relaxed and just go with the flow.

Are you kidding? Las Vegas drivers in my experience are extremely erratic and quite aggressive. I theorize it's because most aren't originally from Sin City (be they tourists or locals) and seem to have brought the WORST driving habits from their original locales with them to southern Nevada. Of course your experience may vary.

You aren't wrong. What I meant by that is drivers in Vegas tend to want to get where they're going quickly and don't really pay attention to anyone else. For better or worse. In OKC and Oklahoma other drivers will fuck you by driving slow, speeding up if you try to pass, pull out in front of you and proceed to drive 10 under the speed limit.

[roadfro]

In Vegas in particular people are more relaxed and just go with the flow.

Are you kidding? Las Vegas drivers in my experience are extremely erratic and quite aggressive. I theorize it's because most aren't originally from Sin City (be they tourists or locals) and seem to have brought the WORST driving habits from their original locales with them to southern Nevada. Of course your experience may vary.

You aren't wrong. What I meant by that is drivers in Vegas tend to want to get where they're going quickly and don't really pay attention to anyone else. For better or worse. In OKC and Oklahoma other drivers will fuck you by driving slow, speeding up if you try to pass, pull out in front of you and proceed to drive 10 under the speed limit.

Having grown up there and still visiting several times a year, I've always said that Vegas is just a melting pot of bad driving habits...

A lot of native Las Vegans will like to blame southern Californians that moved there. Maybe there was some truth to that in the 1990s, as the vast majority of new residents were coming from SoCal. But people are moving to Vegas from everywhere now.

[Max Rockatansky]

Every other year when I visit Jalisco I get a refreshing reminder on what poor driving behavior and poor driving behaviors actually look like.  At least I feel comfortable in saying that nowhere in the United States is overall road experience as bad as it seems to be typically assumed.