Nevada I-15 washed out north of Las Vegas

[adventurernumber1]

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.

Yikes. That ain't good. That would be an absolute shame if something like this happened again right after they fixed up I-15.

[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.

Yikes. That ain't good. That would be an absolute shame if something like this happened again right after they fixed up I-15.

https://www.nevadadot.com/_Alerts/D1_092714_0719_I-15.aspx

Looks like SB I-15 is open but is restricted to one lane in each direction.

[andy3175]

Article about Utah 56 and its role as a detour when I-15 was closed:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/58458249-90/cedar-closed-detour-highway.html.csp

Nevada's application for emergency federal funds to fix flood damage that closed Interstate 15 for a week earlier this month is about to include something unusual: a plea for $6 million to $7 million to fix a highway in neighboring Utah.

Utah State Road 56 – between Cedar City and the Nevada line – became part of a 200-mile detour between Cedar City and Las Vegas when I-15 closed. The small highway usually carries just 500 vehicles a day and instead handled 25,000 – a 50-fold increase.

It is not designed for that.

All the extra traffic, including heavy trucks, caused severe and long tire ruts, potholes, cracking and many bumps akin to a wavy washboard, said Kevin Kitchen, spokesman for the Utah Department of Transportation.

So he said Utah is preparing forms to piggyback onto Nevada's emergency application, hoping to find funds to fix the highway "and bring the damaged ride level back to what it was prior to the I-15 closure."

SR-56 now is among "level 2" roads that UDOT intentionally has done little to maintain in recent years to allow the agency to better afford maintaining roads with heavier use. UDOT has said it was forced into that approach because limited funding has not allowed it to maintain all highways, so it had to prioritize.

Kitchen said SR-56 now might be considered for designation as a level 1 highway or at least to receive some enhanced maintenance.

"If we were to use the traffic measurements we had there for a few days, I imagine we are already there" for making the stretch a higher-priority level 1 road.

[andy3175]

Even before the road was washed out, I-15 was under construction southwest of Mesquite, NV. This article indicates most road construction is nearly complete:

http://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/local/mesquite/2015/01/05/end-sight-work/21312397/

Construction work that has impeded travel on Interstate 15 for past 12 months between Mesquite and Las Vegas will be substantially finished with two-lane, non-restricted traffic in both directions expected by Jan. 16, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT).

The 26-mile-long construction project, from about mile marker 93, (the Logandale/Overton exit) to mile marker 64 near the I-15 exit to Ely, Pioche and Great Basin National Park, cost $36 million, said Tony Illia, NDOT spokesman. It was started in January 2014. Las Vegas Paving is the contractor.

The construction project was originally expected to be done by the end of last month, but two powerful rainstorms in September twice halted construction and shut down traffic between Mesquite and Las Vegas, Illia said.

The first storm Sept. 8 was caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Norbert, Illia said. It washed out nearly 2 miles of the interstate between the Glendale/Moapa Exit 91, to the Logandale/Overton Exit 93, he said.

"At the height of the storm, we got 2 inches of rain in two hours," Illia said. "The average yearly rainfall for Southern Nevada is only about 4 inches. In the flood caused by the storm, there was 12,000 cubic feet per second of water flowing over I-15 (north of Exit 91). The storm cut 15-foot-deep gaps in the freeway."

NDOT and Las Vegas Paving agreed to a $5 million change order to fix the storm damage and 24 hours later, I-15 between Mesquite and Logandale was open to traffic. Four days later there was two-way traffic all the way to Las Vegas and in 10 days the road was repaired.

The next heavy rainstorm occurred late Friday, Sept. 26, and early Saturday, Sept. 27. Mesquite, Bunkerville and Beaver Dam in Arizona appeared to be the hardest hit areas in Virgin Valley when an inch and a half of rain fell in less than 12 hours, according to the National Weather Service.

Rain in Moapa Valley, Moapa and the Moapa River Indian Reservation was logged at .71 to 1.10 inches, according to the weather service.

The storm forced the Nevada Highway Patrol to close I-15, and state routes 169, 168 and 170 in Nevada, and Arizona Department of Transportation closed Old Highway 91, according to Washington County Sheriff's Office in Utah.

While the majority of the work will be done by Jan. 16, it will be May before the project will be completely finished.

[nexus73]

@Andy: Do you know if the I-15 work by Mesquite was to add lanes?

Rick

[roadfro]

@Andy: Do you know if the I-15 work by Mesquite was to add lanes?

This was not a capacity project. It was primarily a repaving project, and may have included other related improvements.

[andy3175]

@Andy: Do you know if the I-15 work by Mesquite was to add lanes?

This was not a capacity project. It was primarily a repaving project, and may have included other related improvements.

Correct. The project repaved a significant section of I-15, but it did not add any lanes. The Nevada DOT report states:

https://www.nevadadot.com/Projects_and_Programs/Road_Projects/District_1_Construction_Report.aspx

I-15 Repaving Project Near Moapa Valley

The Nevada Department of Transportation is repaving a 26-mile stretch on I-15 in the northbound and southbound directions from Dry Lakes to the Logandale/Overton Interchange (near State Route 169). Begun in January 2014 and expected to finish Spring 2015, the project will improve the condition of the road from Milepost 69 to Milepost 95.

The project is scheduled to shut down Fall 2014, with no traffic closures, and resume for completion Spring 2015. The contractor for the $36 million project is Las Vegas Paving.

October 2014 Update:

The second I-15 southbound lane near Moapa is expected to open by Thanksgiving, as crews are still repairing damages that resulted from the September 8 rainstorm.

There is also a study underway for "Apex to Mesquite" and Moapa Valley, which is primarily served by I-15 northeast of Las Vegas and likely will consider what can be done when nearby state routes are called into service when I-15 is closed for any reason:

http://www.ammvcorridorstudy.org/

The Apex to Mesquite and Moapa Valley Corridor Study is a joint effort project sponsored by the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) and the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC). The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a key partner in the process providing guidance and review of the study's work products.

The study includes the following routes:

I-15 from MP 57.00 to 123.77 (Apex to Stateline)
US93 from MP 52.03 to 86.58 (I-15 to Lincoln County line)
SR168 from MP 0.00 to 23.76 (I-15 to US93)
SR169 from I-15 to MP 5.82 (I-15 to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area boundary)*
*Note: SR 169 between Logandale and Overton are subject to an existing conditions safety review only.

Project Objective

To develop a long range master plan for each of the study corridors including early action improvements, safety enhancements, access control policy, corridor preservation objectives and physical upgrades to existing infrastructure. The project will serve as a foundation for future environmental analysis, design and construction efforts.

Linking the corridor study process to support the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process

The Corridor Study will serve as the foundation for future project specific environmental analyses' embracing the philosophy of "Linking planning and NEPA".

The Corridor Study will be organized in the following manner thereby supporting future environmental planning:

- Corridor level goals and objectives
- General travel corridor definition
- Preliminary screening of alternatives and elimination of unreasonable alternatives
- Basic description of environmental setting
- Preliminary identification of environmental impacts and mitigation
- Phasing of Alternatives/Plan Forward

Stakeholder outreach is an integral component of linking planning and NEPA. The study process will involve interested state, local, tribal and federal agencies and include Public Review with an opportunity for comment. It will include documentation of relevant decisions and review by the FHWA.

Click www.epa.gov/Compliance/nepa to obtain additional information on the NEPA process.

[andy3175]

The corridor study I just referenced also has a list of immediate, medium, and long term priority improvements for the affected corridors. Here are links to the PDF's with the proposed improvements, which not only reference truck lanes, obstruction removals, and interchange improvements but also future roads and interchanges to accommodate future development north and east of Las Vegas:

http://www.ammvcorridorstudy.org/docs/I_Matrix.pdf

http://www.ammvcorridorstudy.org/docs/M_Matrix.pdf

http://www.ammvcorridorstudy.org/docs/L_Matrix.pdf - note a "Mesquite Beltway" is included in this group, most likely to accommodate future development in and around Mesquite