I-11 Study Site

[Billy F 1988]

So, I am curious. What exactly is the intent for I-11?

Pork.

Dang it!  Must be the "Pork Freeway" then!

[Scott5114]

Well, I-11 would be rather useful at pulling traffic into Vegas from the southeast and east. Currently, traffic from Arizona has no feasible all-freeway route into Vegas save going all the way to Barstow, CA and making the connection to I-15 there, and that's way out of the way (and technically I think requires a surface street connection in Barstow). I-11 would make getting into Vegas easier for people coming from Arizona and points east, like Texas. 11 would also help people from Arizona head north to places like Utah and Montana by feeding into I-15.

[myosh_tino]

So, I am curious. What exactly is the intent for I-11?

Pork.

Not necessarily.  I think an interstate corridor from Phoenix to Las Vegas is completely appropriate.  It links two major metropolitan areas and provides freight access from the Mexican border to the inner mountain west (Salt Lake City, Boise, Yakima, etc) via I-15 and I-84.  I do not think an extension of I-11 north of Las Vegas is warranted due to extremely low traffic counts and sparse population.

[NE2]

So, I am curious. What exactly is the intent for I-11?

Pork.

Not necessarily.  I think an interstate corridor from Phoenix to Las Vegas is completely appropriate.  It links two major metropolitan areas and provides freight access from the Mexican border to the inner mountain west (Salt Lake City, Boise, Yakima, etc) via I-15 and I-84.

So does a four-lane US 93. There's no need to elimitante the cross trarffic.

[national highway 1]

So, I am curious. What exactly is the intent for I-11?

Pork.

Not necessarily.  I think an interstate corridor from Phoenix to Las Vegas is completely appropriate.  It links two major metropolitan areas and provides freight access from the Mexican border to the inner mountain west (Salt Lake City, Boise, Yakima, etc) via I-15 and I-84.  I do not think an extension of I-11 north of Las Vegas is warranted due to extremely low traffic counts and sparse population.

An ideal border-to-border route would be I-19, I-10, I-11 and I-15

[hm insulators]

When the Interstate highway system was first conceived and designed in the 1950s (and built in the following couple of decades), Phoenix and Las Vegas were much smaller cities than they are now. Such has been the growth since then (especially Phoenix, which is now the sixth largest city in the nation and in recent years duked it out with Philadelphia over the status of fifth largest city) that the new interstate between the two cities would make perfect sense.

[roadfro]

^ Phoenix and Las Vegas are the two largest metropolitan areas in the US without an Interstate highway linking them. In that sense, it seems natural to put an I-shield between them.

As NE2 indicates, though, US 93 suits that purpose just fine. Further improvements could be made, but the red and blue shield isn't necessary to make this Vegas-to-Phoenix connection a viable route. However, the "prestige" of having the I-shield seems to be a factor to many a politician.

[ShawnP]

Honest question what would be the traffic counts between Reno and Vegas? Of course future projections are always guesses and if the economy stays slow. Reno and Vegas are the two main population centers of Nevada so I can see how some would want a direct Interstate connection. On a side note I can see why Vegas and Phoenix want that direct Interstate connection. They have the traffic counts to sell it.

[Billy F 1988]

Honestly, if people want I-11 to be made, I wouldn't mind riding or driving that route as long as it's not super-congested and it feeds easily into other routes. That's as if the state DoT's have the resources and manpower to build it. But with the economy the way it is, it will be a long ways away before a definitive decision based on economy, feasbility, and environmental impact is made. The only problem with I-11 going into Montana is that it can't co-exist with I-15. Sure, you can feed I-11 into 15. The only thing I see a problem with it is that I can't entertain the notion of it co-existing with US 93 or any other US or state route for that matter. There's no room to fit I-11 through it, plus, there isn't enough money in the state of Montana anyway to connect it all the way to Canada. The state DoT doesn't even have enough manpower or resources. If you continue to build I-11 through Montana, you eliminate a lot of important routes that have to remain there to serve the counties each one runs through. I base this on living situations and how an interstate highway like this could impact my commute.

[NE2]

^ Phoenix and Las Vegas are the two largest metropolitan areas in the US without an Interstate highway linking them.

Philadelphia-New York

Seriously, St. Louis-MSP. Both metro area populations lie between Phoenix and Vegas, and the best route is the Avenue of the Saints.

And if you're anal about it being an Interstate, add Miami-Atlanta - the best route includes Florida's Turnpike.

Then there's Houston-Austin - Houston's bigger than Phoenix and Vegas, but Austin is smaller by 200000. Columbus-Detroit partially squeaks by similarly.

[roadfro]

Honest question what would be the traffic counts between Reno and Vegas? Of course future projections are always guesses and if the economy stays slow. Reno and Vegas are the two main population centers of Nevada so I can see how some would want a direct Interstate connection. On a side note I can see why Vegas and Phoenix want that direct Interstate connection. They have the traffic counts to sell it.

2011 AADT figures from Nevada DOT, at semi-random spots along the Vegas-to-Reno journey:

US 95, just north of jct SR 157 Kyle Canyon Rd (just outside LV city limits) - 12,300 vpd
US 95, 6 mi north of jct SR 156 Lee Canyon Rd (about 10 mi outside LV city limits) - 6900 vpd
US 95, 9 mi north of Indian Springs - 3300 vpd
US 95, 1 mi north of jct SR 374 at Beatty (approx. 1/4 point) - 2300 vpd
US 95, just south of jct US 6 at Tonopah (approx. halfway point) - 2000 vpd
US 95, just north of jct US 6 at Coaldale - 1700 vpd
US 95, just south of Hawthorne (approx. 3/4 point) - 2300 vpd
US 95, just south of Fallon (approx. 4/5 point) - 2600 vpd
US 50 Alt, east of jct US 95 Alt in Fernley - 9100 vpd
I-80 at Exit 22 Lockwood, east of Reno-Sparks - 28,000 vpd

^ Phoenix and Las Vegas are the two largest metropolitan areas in the US without an Interstate highway linking them.

Philadelphia-New York

Seriously, St. Louis-MSP. Both metro area populations lie between Phoenix and Vegas, and the best route is the Avenue of the Saints.

And if you're anal about it being an Interstate, add Miami-Atlanta - the best route includes Florida's Turnpike.

Then there's Houston-Austin - Houston's bigger than Phoenix and Vegas, but Austin is smaller by 200000. Columbus-Detroit partially squeaks by similarly.

Perhaps it's "largest cities", not metro areas... that was just a regurgitation of what the media has put out there in touting the need for the Hoover Dam Bypass and later I-11...