Question: is the "missing" east-quadrant leg of the 215 belt being reconsidered at this point -- or is something farther out from the city center also under consideration? And is there any active proposal to reroute I-11 along the under-development composite 215 beltway around the south and west side of Las Vegas? I'd think that absent any of the above, the optimal solution for NDOT would be to consider applying to redesignate I-515 -- along with extending the I-11 designation over US 95 at least to the 215 interchange northwest of town. If other notions crop up in the future, it can be dealt with at that point. Designating I-11 through town would lend some credence to the whole corridor concept -- a continuous route serving a large portion of Las Vegas before depositing one onto the US 93 expressway in AZ (complete with "Future I-11 Corridor" signage to drive the point home).
If this is done -- and a bypass reroute does occur later -- the in-town US 95 routing could easily be renumbered as a x11!
As I understand it, there are three corridors under consideration:
- One, using the existing southern and western 215 segments to US 95, then northward along 95.
- One, staying on the existing 95 alignment.
- One, on a new highway alignment on the east side of the city, then connecting to the northern segment of Highway 215, thence back to US 95.
The "missing east leg" of the 215 beltway is NOT being considered. There was a feasibility study done on an eastern beltway leg in the mid-2000s, but it was determined that this (no matter the alignment) would have had nearly a $1 billion price tag and the concept was abandoned. The high price tag would have been in large part due to right of way acquisition—the east side of the Las Vegas Valley was developed much earlier than the south/west/north, so the majority of an eastern beltway alignment would have been through existing developed land (whereas much of the constructed 215 right of way, especially along the west and north legs, was acquired prior to development reaching these areas).
The east alignment under consideration goes outside of the Las Vegas Valley, behind Sunrise & Frenchman Mountains through the Lake Mead NRA, around Nellis Air Force Base to reconnect to I-15, and comes back down to follow the north leg of the 215 over to US 95.
I haven't come across a nice, easily linkable photo of these options. If you go to the documents section of the
www.i-11study.com website, the "Level 2 Evaluation Results Summary" gives illustrations of the alternatives under consideration in Nevada and Arizona.
Looking at a map, keeping I-11 on the I-215 corridor and up through 95 would be the direct route for I-11 traffic. The East alignment should be a new x11 or x15 interstate, or part of an I-215 loop if feasible.
Which begs the question, why is 215 only marked as an interstate for a quarter loop and as a Nevada state route for the rest of it's path?
If I-11 follows one of the through-town alignments, the east alignment under consideration would not be constructed.
Your second question is a bit off-topic and probably has been answered in another thread...but whatever: The short version is that Clark County constructed the beltway, not NDOT. Portions currently existing as I-215 were constructed to Interstate standard from the beginning, whereas everything west/north of the I-15 junction was a patchwork of frontage roads, freeway segments, 4-lane roads, etc. upon initial construction—with traffic signals at the location of every future full interchange. So it was not able to be signed as an Interstate and was instead signed as Clark County Route 215.
Author
Topic: I-11 to be signed from I-215 to AZ border (Read 9201 times)