If you have ever made the drive between Nevada and California during a busy weekend, you are all too familiar with a feeling of dread. You know that one minor accident or one car breakdown on this stretch of road means extra travel time for you. What should be an approximately four hour trip can easily turn into a nine hour nightmare. We’ve all been there, but now some immediate relief is coming for motorists who travel Interstate 15 near the Nevada-California border.
In December 2021, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak and California Governor Gavin Newsom made a huge announcement. The five-mile stretch of I-15 from the state line to the California Department of Food and Agriculture Station will be temporarily expanded. This move is to hopefully ease some of the bottleneck that happens when lanes go from three to two as you enter California from Primm, Nevada.
The shoulder will be repaved and restriped by the California Department of Transportation and used as a third lane during peak hours. The project is expected to begin in the spring and Governor Newsom has promised its completion by summer 2022. It will cost California approximately $12 million.
So why the changes now? Motorists have been complaining about this stretch of road for years. Governor Newsom answers honestly saying all it took was a phone call from Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak.
City of Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman was thrilled to hear of the changes being made by California, calling it a good start. She has been very vocal about changes that need to be made to the I-15 in that area and in the past has taken her concerns to former President Trump and other leaders. She says with cargo ships backed up in the Pacific, the world is now understanding how vital this stretch of road is, not only to the tourists, but to the transportation of goods throughout the United States. She says now is the time to push to get infrastructure dollars to fix the problem.
As for what long-term plans would look like, nobody knows, but both sides have vowed to work together to try to find a solution.