Interstate 11 alignment, though Vegas and points north

[Scott5114]

When this picture was taken, the Las Vegas Valley had a population of 25,000 or so. These days it's closer to 2.2 million. Probably not a good idea to expose that many people to radiation...

...and also Nevada is a swing state, so whatever politicians greenlit more nuclear testing here would probably get their careers nuked too.

[US 89]

Radiation exposure is still an issue in these areas from the 1950s nuclear tests. People who lived downwind of the Nevada Test Site, known as downwinders, have had a much higher incidence of various types of cancers and birth defects than the general population, and most of these have been directly linked to radiation exposure. Compensation for these victims is still a political issue in the southwest with support on both sides of the aisle...

Right, not exactly many nuclear weapon tests going on these day.

I think they should do one to give people appreciation for just how powerful these weapons are. I don't think a lot of people understand the end result of nuclear war especially if it mutually assured destruction.

Can't do that. We're a party to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

I don't think the United States cares as much. As far as I know, we didn't even ratify it. Nor did several other countries.

The US has signed and ratified the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which bans all above-ground nuclear detonations:



What the US Senate has not formally ratified is the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, a total ban on all nuclear detonations, though no tests have been conducted since 1992:

[brad2971]

Right, not exactly many nuclear weapon tests going on these day.

I think they should do one to give people appreciation for just how powerful these weapons are. I don't think a lot of people understand the end result of nuclear war especially if it mutually assured destruction.

I'm sure if above ground testing was still a thing that the hotels in Las Vegas would still be throwing nuke parties.

lol it'd be a tourist attraction from all over the world. I read stories about about how people in big bear could see the explosions in Nevada like it was the second sunrise.

Has anybody ever seen a test?

Considering that there are now over 200,000 people in Washington County (UT), the state of Utah would raise quite the stink over such a "tourist attraction."

[roadfro]

When this picture was taken, the Las Vegas Valley had a population of 25,000 or so. These days it's closer to 2.2 million. Probably not a good idea to expose that many people to radiation...

...and also Nevada is a swing state, so whatever politicians greenlit more nuclear testing here would probably get their careers nuked too.

Opposing nuclear testing and nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain is one political issue that politicians across Nevada, on both sides of the aisle, have managed to consistently agree upon over the last several decades. Being for anything remotely related is political suicide in this state.

[Sub-Urbanite]

Not to stray this off topic any more than it already is, but:

More than 40,000 Americans suffered health effects from above-ground testing in the 1950s. "Significant amounts of radioactive particles were dropped on these areas leading to marked increases in cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma, thyroid cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, bone cancer, brain tumors, and gastrointestinal tract cancers, from the mid-1950s through 1980."

We're not testing above ground ever again.

[Rothman]

But we like explode-y things.

[Plutonic Panda]

We're not testing above ground ever again.

lol okay we will see.

[mgk920]

The USA won't, but current and future despots certainly will.  Many did learn of their destructive power nearly 80 years ago.

Mike

[Henry]

Time to get back to the real topic here:

According to Streetview, on northbound I-15 the signs for exit 42 still say I-515, while the southbound side now shows I-11 for the same exit. Any idea on when the re-signing project on I-15 will be done? Also, what about I-215?

[Scott5114]

I believe all of the remaining signage along I-15 and I-215 to be changed is part of the same contract that will change it on mainline I-11.

[silverback1065]

  just curious, are they also finally signing CC 215 as I-215 now too?

[Scott5114]

just curious, are they also finally signing CC 215 as I-215 now too?

You've been here longer than me so you might know better, but I seem to remember that Clark County would have to agree to take on an equivalent amount of state route mileage for that to happen. It might be hard to cobble up enough state routes that both make sense for the county to be maintaining and also aren't in LV or NLV city limits. (Unless the county is going to maintain roads in the cities, which would be bizarre.)

[silverback1065]

just curious, are they also finally signing CC 215 as I-215 now too?

You've been here longer than me so you might know better, but I seem to remember that Clark County would have to agree to take on an equivalent amount of state route mileage for that to happen. It might be hard to cobble up enough state routes that both make sense for the county to be maintaining and also aren't in LV or NLV city limits. (Unless the county is going to maintain roads in the cities, which would be bizarre.)

   interesting. I have been on this thread a while, but I only check in occasionally, I more hang out in the midwest threads. I don't know a lot about Nevada roads! 

[Max Rockatansky]

Looking at the NDOT maintenance list there is some swap opportunities:

https://www.dot.nv.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/22173/638399514594330000

Some that seem like opportunities:

-  The renaming 12 miles of NV 604 on Las Vegas Boulevard.
-  The 18 miles or NV 164 on Nipton Road.  Caltrans doesn't maintain the segment in California, so why does NDOT?
-  The 7 miles of NV 161 to Goodsprings.
-  The 11 miles of NV 165 to Nelson.  Why does a quasi ghost town need state highway?

[Scott5114]

-  The renaming 12 miles of NV 604 on Las Vegas Boulevard.

This is all in NLV city limits, so I don't think Clark County could/would take it.

[roadfro]

Time to get back to the real topic here:

According to Streetview, on northbound I-15 the signs for exit 42 still say I-515, while the southbound side now shows I-11 for the same exit. Any idea on when the re-signing project on I-15 will be done? Also, what about I-215?

It was discussed further upthread, but the southbound I-15 signs were changed from I-515 to I-11 as part of a separate project along I-15 that took place well before the current I-11 transition signing project was even advertised.

I'm not sure on the details for the re-signing project, but based on something I saw in a Facebook group yesterday, I think it's underway now.

[NE2]

just curious, are they also finally signing CC 215 as I-215 now too?

You've been here longer than me so you might know better, but I seem to remember that Clark County would have to agree to take on an equivalent amount of state route mileage for that to happen. It might be hard to cobble up enough state routes that both make sense for the county to be maintaining and also aren't in LV or NLV city limits. (Unless the county is going to maintain roads in the cities, which would be bizarre.)

Hold up. Wasn't part of current I-215 county maintained for a while?

[roadfro]

Indulging some thread drift for a second here...

just curious, are they also finally signing CC 215 as I-215 now too?

You've been here longer than me so you might know better, but I seem to remember that Clark County would have to agree to take on an equivalent amount of state route mileage for that to happen. It might be hard to cobble up enough state routes that both make sense for the county to be maintaining and also aren't in LV or NLV city limits. (Unless the county is going to maintain roads in the cities, which would be bizarre.)

Hold up. Wasn't part of current I-215 county maintained for a while?

NDOT has a policy document created a few years ago that governs their roadway jurisdictional swap process. This was a long time coming, as swaps prior to this had been much more piecemeal.

IIRC, one of the first major uses of this policy were all the swaps outlined in this 2019 press release, which resulted in NDOT taking on the maintenance of Summerlin Pkwy (Now SR 613) in exchange for offloading a significant chunk of Charleston Blvd and parts of Sahara Ave and Fremont St to the City of Las Vegas, as well as taking on maintenance of the I-215 portion of the beltway from Warm Springs Road to Stephanie (between the end stubs near I-15 & I-515 they were already maintaining) in exchange for offloading portions of Jones Blvd, Sahara Ave & Tropicana Ave within unincorporated Clark County to the county.

If you look at those transfers, the length of arterial routes offloaded to the city or county is not necessarily equivalent to length of freeway picked up by NDOT (for example, Summerlin Pkwy is about 6 miles of freeway, but more than 6 miles of Charleston Blvd alone was offloaded). I'm not sure if there that becomes more equivalent if you look at lane miles or amount/valuation of land transferred. But also, there are other factors at play. In the Vegas area especially, the CLV/CC has been keen to take on some of the routes under state maintenance just to have that control and simplify permitting and other processes—a prominent, no longer extant example being the county regulating everything about Las Vegas Blvd/the Strip except the roadway itself, so NDOT approval/permitting used to be needed for any resort connection to the road, any changes in the ROW, or even simply for the county to do maintenance on the palm trees and infrastructure in the median of Las Vegas Blvd. Also, I think NDOT has relinquished a decent amount of mileage within the urban unincorporated county limits since inception of the beltway that perhaps they have an agreement with the county to bank some of it for a future swap of the remaining beltway...?

Looking at the NDOT maintenance list there is some swap opportunities:

https://www.dot.nv.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/22173/638399514594330000

Some that seem like opportunities:

-  The renaming 12 miles of NV 604 on Las Vegas Boulevard.
-  The 18 miles or NV 164 on Nipton Road.  Caltrans doesn't maintain the segment in California, so why does NDOT?
-  The 7 miles of NV 161 to Goodsprings.
-  The 11 miles of NV 165 to Nelson.  Why does a quasi ghost town need state highway?

I think NDOT will be more apt to want to transfer more urban mileage within the county's jurisdiction. A real likely option will probably be for NDOT to offload the portion of Boulder Highway/SR 582 still under their jurisdiction (especially if the "re-imagine Boulder Highway" project extends north from the Henderson city limits), as they've already offloaded other portions of SR 582 to Las Vegas and Henderson. Other reasonable candidates include Nellis Blvd/SR 612 and the remaining portions of Flamingo Road/SR 592 and Sunset Road/SR 594 not already relinquished to the county.

[The Ghostbuster]

I hope CC-215 does become part of Interstate 215 eventually. I wouldn't want it to remain a county highway permanently. Then the Interstate System will have two Interstate 215s that are three-quarters of a beltway.

[Max Rockatansky]

It probably is way more interesting as is.  Fully limited access county roads aren't exactly plentiful.

[cl94]

It probably is way more interesting as is.  Fully limited access county roads aren't exactly plentiful.

That. You could make an argument for E-470 and a couple in Orange County, CA meeting the definition given that they're county toll authorities, but CC 215 gets pentagons and everything, plus nonstandard signage. Alfred Harrell Highway in Bakersfield is fully limited access, Nicolls Road / Suffolk CR 97 on Long Island is full freeway for a few miles, probably a handful of others scattered around, but none come close to the scale of CC 215.

[PColumbus73]

CC 215 is more of a development highway. I imagine unless you're a resident of the western suburbs, most folks would just use I-15 if they're going through the city. Assuming I-11 is completed all the way to Reno, then integrating it into the Interstate system would make sense.

[Scott5114]

I doubt CC-215 is ever actually faster than I-15 but holy hell do I avoid I-15 like the plague. I'd rather drive the Strip than I-15, it's that bad.

[abqtraveler]

Right, not exactly many nuclear weapon tests going on these day.

I think they should do one to give people appreciation for just how powerful these weapons are. I don't think a lot of people understand the end result of nuclear war especially if it mutually assured destruction.

Can't do that. We're a party to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

I don't think the United States cares as much. As far as I know, we didn't even ratify it. Nor did several other countries.

Actually it's the Limited Test Ban Treaty the US is a party to. The Limited Test Ban Treaty prohibits above-ground testing. The US has had a self-imposed moratorium on underground nuclear testing since 1992.

[roadman65]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ibAK53HHuYJXc4GZ9
I see Googlemaps has this considered I-11 already.