Nevada I-15 washed out north of Las Vegas

[Kniwt]

Las Vegas Sun photo:


KLAS-TV reports:
http://www.8newsnow.com/story/26477250/breaking-moapa-hit-hard-i-15-closed-to-traffic

According to Clark County Fire officials, the southbound lanes of I-15 at mile marker 92 have been completely washed out. The National Weather Service referred to the flooding as "life-threatening." Moapa, which is 50 miles north of Las Vegas, received more than three inches of rain in an hour.

... Nevada Highway Patrol reported, at one point, that cars were floating down I-15 near Moapa.

Update:
http://www.8newsnow.com/story/26477250/ndot-i-15-will-be-closed-3-to-4-days

Nevada Department of Transportation said the freeway will be closed for three to four days. According to Utah Department of Transportation, I-15 is closed just outside of St. George.  ... Nevada Highway Patrol said I-15 has a lot of damage and it is not safe enough to allow traffic on it. 

[Brian556]

holy shit.

[sdmichael]

Hopefully US 93 is still open. I dealt with a washout on that road south of Alamo back in August 2005 which closed it for a few days, inconveniently just a couple hours before we got there.

[roadfro]

I've seen various flood events around the Vegas area, but never one to completely wash out a road. (Unfortunately, I think that stretch of I-15 was undergoing or just finished a resurfacing.)

Flash flooding events can be very dramatic in the southern Nevada desert, yet people still try to drive through flood waters...

Hopefully US 93 is still open. I dealt with a washout on that road south of Alamo back in August 2005 which closed it for a few days, inconveniently just a couple hours before we got there.

According to one of the links, US 93 was closed in two places, so there wasn't a convenient detour between Las Vegas and Utah at the time. It has since reopened.

[nexus73]

Watching the Monday night football game between San Diego and Arizona showed Phoenix got a record amount of rainfall that flooded their city.  Deserts are so funny that way by being dry 99% of the time and then turning into a scene from "Noah" that 1% when all hell breaks loose. 

The power of water: When I was driving west on I-8 on the way to San Diego, before the freeway began it's climb into the mountains there was a reroute onto old US 80.  I wondered why.  A couple miles later the question was answered.  An I-8 eastbound bridge had been demolished by a flash flood so bad that it looked like the structure had been hit by an atomic bomb.  It was that much of a twisted up mess.

I think I'll stay on the Oregon coast, where the rains drain away fairly well.  Those deserts are scary places when they're hit with a massive downpour!  Best wishes to all concerned in Nevada and Arizona.

Rick

[Kniwt]

KLAS-TV photo:


More here: http://www.8newsnow.com/story/26477250/i-15-closed-for-days-flooding-impacting-overton-logandale

[Zeffy]

I was honestly unaware that torrential amounts of water could cause that kind of damage.

[jeffandnicole]

I was honestly unaware that torrential amounts of water could cause that kind of damage.

It happened to I-287 not too long ago, and surely you've seen the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy right here in NJ. 

[sdmichael]

Watching the Monday night football game between San Diego and Arizona showed Phoenix got a record amount of rainfall that flooded their city.  Deserts are so funny that way by being dry 99% of the time and then turning into a scene from "Noah" that 1% when all hell breaks loose. 

The power of water: When I was driving west on I-8 on the way to San Diego, before the freeway began it's climb into the mountans there was a reroute onto old US 80.  I wondered why.  A couple miles later the question was answered.  An I-8 eastbound bridge had been demolished by a flash flood so bad that it looked like the structure had been hit by an atomic bomb.  It was that much of a twisted up mess.

I think I'll stay on the Oregon coast, where the rains drain away fairly well.  Those deserts are scary places when they're hit with a massive downpour!  Best wishes to all concerned in Nevada and Arizona.

Rick

When was the bridge on I-8 destroyed and what location exactly?

[nexus73]

The bridge was destroyed Michael.  The EXACT location is unknown by me but since it was just before I-8 heads into the mountains I am sure you can find the place.  By the way, this happened around 1977.

Rick

[sdmichael]

Then I know exactly what one and why. It was the Myers Creek Bridge heading WB on I-8 just west of Millers. The old Shepards Bridge, an arch bridge, was also damaged during the storm. The remnants of Hurricane Kathleen were the cause of the rainfall.

However, it was a bit misleading posting that information at first. This post was about a current event and 1977 isn't exactly recent. There have been a lot of thunderstorms in the area lately, hence my question. A nicer response would have been adequate.

[ARMOURERERIC]

Kinda freaked me as well since I live at the top of the long climb on 8., and there was evidence of a massive thunderstorm two Monday's ago in the late eve.

[nexus73]

Sorry I hurt your feelers there Michael.  Didn't mean to!

Rick

[roadfro]

I was honestly unaware that torrential amounts of water could cause that kind of damage.

Flash flooding is a huge problem in desert areas, especially the Las Vegas region. Much of it has to do with the native soil of the surrounding area, as a lot of the desert soil is hardened and not very permeable, so water cannot soak into the ground. In the Vegas area, this is caused by caliche, which is almost like a form of natural cement that tends to form fairly shallowly beneath the soil surface. (As an aside, caliche is one of main reasons most houses in the Vegas area do not have basements–it is very expensive to dig through.) This causes water to run off towards natural low points (washes and rivers). Rainfall coming off the mountains that can't soak in, combined with big downpours in a short timeframe, spells big trouble.

Flash floods have been a perennial problem in the Las Vegas area. There was a pretty big event some time ago (I want to say 1983) that caused major flooding along the Strip that flooded and washed away numerous cars in the Caesar's Palace parking lot. Another one (July 2001?) washed away two motor homes when the Las Vegas Wash overflowed during a heavy rainfall event (1.5 inches of rain in about 90 minutes). Heck, even Hoover Dam was constructed in part to prevent recurrent flooding of downstream towns along the Colorado River. Every year during summer rainstorms, people try to drive through storm water, their cars stall out, and they have to be rescued.

The Vegas area has spent millions on flood control measures since the 1980s, via the Clark County Regional Flood Control District–and this work continues. This includes water detention basins, concrete lining of several natural washes, and hundreds of miles of underground storm drain conduits. These projects have helped to eliminate (or lessen the severity of) perennial flooding trouble spots that would fill with water even during the not-so-major rainfall, such as the Charleston Blvd (SR 159) railroad underpass and the ground floor of the Imperial Palace Hotel/Casino (now The Quad) parking garage adjacent to the Flamingo Wash.

[roadfro]

Governor Sandoval has declared a state of emergency for the areas affected by flooding:
http://www.8newsnow.com/story/26491732/breaking-news-gov-sandoval-declares-state-of-emergency-for-clark-county

A temporary repair should be ready for the washed out section of I-15 by this Friday. The Interstate will need to be torn up an replaced in the affected section at some point in the near future.
http://www.8newsnow.com/story/26501983/temporary-fix-for-washed-out-i-15-could-be-ready-by-friday

[doorknob60]

This explains the "Severe weather delay" on my UPS package shipping from Ontario, CA to Nampa. Didn't realize what they were referring to until this morning I saw the package was in Salt Lake City. Yep, I-15. Now I have to wait until Monday (was supposed to get here today)...

[roadfro]

As of yesterday, NDOT reopened I-15 in both directions to passenger vehicles. At the point of the roadway washout, it is down to one lane in each direction and all traffic is routed to one side of the highway via crossovers. They will then work on fixing the opposite side. Commercial vehicles still must follow a detour for now.

It was somewhat fortunate that NDOT was already doing a mill & fill job along this part of the Interstate. That contractor was already in place and mobilized, such that they could just divert existing resources to the temporary repair.

[Zonie]

I-15 is back up and running in both directions, and commercial restrictions have been lifted:

http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nevada/i-15-near-moapa-reopens-both-directions

[adventurernumber1]

I was honestly unaware that torrential amounts of water could cause that kind of damage.

Same here. When I first saw this thread, I heard "washed out" and had no idea what it meant. I thought there was a small possibility it meant the entire road was literally washed out and the asphalt (or concrete) was actually absent or torn apart. Turns out that's what it means. After reading more down the thread, I can see a road being "washed out" as less odd, but I am still amazed water could do something like that.

It was somewhat fortunate that NDOT was already doing a mill & fill job along this part of the Interstate. That contractor was already in place and mobilized, such that they could just divert existing resources to the temporary repair.

Heh. How convenient.

[Rover_0]

Not to toot my own horn, but maybe renumbering NV-319 to NV-56 to match UT-56 (or NV-14 for an extended UT-14) could help a little in better marking the I-15 detour. I know it goes completely against Nevada's numbering system, but it could make detours a touch easier, and also, don't NV-28 and NV-88 exist for reasons of consistency (though their history does admittedly go much further back)?





That, or make it US-193 using the "US Routes serve as alternatives to Interstates" line of thinking.

[roadfro]

I wouldn't think a renumbering to create a detour would be overly necessary. This is the first incident in 20+ years that I can think of out in that area, and it was due to a weather event similar to a 100-year flood...

[vdeane]

100-year floods now happen every couple years in upstate NY, so I wouldn't count on the weather behaving as it always has.

[andy3175]

I wouldn't think a renumbering to create a detour would be overly necessary. This is the first incident in 20+ years that I can think of out in that area, and it was due to a weather event similar to a 100-year flood...

Construction also seems to cause travel restrictions through the Virgin River Gorge, and for whatever reason, the old US 91 route is not considered sufficient for through traffic. I recall seeing detour signage via Utah 56 and US 93 over a decade ago due to road work back then, and there are some detour signs up now related to the current bridge work in the Gorge. While I don't necessary think a renumbering is in order, I do think that there should be an established, permanent detour signed to avoid the Gorge.

[Zonie]

I wouldn't think a renumbering to create a detour would be overly necessary. This is the first incident in 20+ years that I can think of out in that area, and it was due to a weather event similar to a 100-year flood...

Construction also seems to cause travel restrictions through the Virgin River Gorge, and for whatever reason, the old US 91 route is not considered sufficient for through traffic. I recall seeing detour signage via Utah 56 and US 93 over a decade ago due to road work back then, and there are some detour signs up now related to the current bridge work in the Gorge. While I don't necessary think a renumbering is in order, I do think that there should be an established, permanent detour signed to avoid the Gorge.

I've taken the back way on old US 91 from St. George back to Las Vegas -- it's a narrow, two-lane road with a few sharp and blind curves.  On the Arizona side, there's no shoulder to speak of.

[Rover_0]

Uh-oh...it's happening again.

EDIT: I-15 is still in good shape at the moment.

EDIT #2: I-15 has been closed in all directions south of Mesquite, or so I'm told.