Project Neon

The Largest Public Works Project in Nevada History

LVNet LVNet Jul 1, 2019 11:51 1407 0

pic courtesy of http://ndotprojectneon.com/

Nearly two decades in the making, Project Neon is the largest public works project in Nevada history. Project Neon will widen 3.7 miles of Interstate 15 between Sahara Avenue and the “Spaghetti Bowl” interchange in downtown Las Vegas. It’s currently the busiest stretch of highway in Nevada with 300,000 vehicles daily, or one-tenth of the state population, seeing 25,000 lane changes an hour. Resulting in an average of 3 crashes a day. Traffic through the corridor is expected to double by 2035.

Project Neon is being primarily funded through state revenue bonds. The Nevada State Transportation Board approved Project Neon construction bonds in November 2015. Bonding is a cost-effective tool for advancing projects without disrupting funding for other critical work. Federal funds will help retire the bond debt. Also, the city of Las Vegas is contributing about $75 million in locally obligated federal highway funds towards the project.

FACTS at a Glance:

Project cost Project Neon represents an almost $1 billion investment.

Preliminary Engineering $25 million
Right-of-Way $250 million
Construction $559 million
Construction Administration $60 million
Total Expense $900 million

How will commutes improve? For NB I-15 (from approximately the WB Spring Mountain on-ramp to the Spaghetti Bowl)

Future traffic without Project Neon improvements: Average speeds on NB I-15: 28 miles/hour

Future traffic with Project Neon improvements: Average speeds on NB I-15 increase to 60 miles/hour From US 95 SB at Rancho to I-15 SB at Sahara

Today, during the AM and PM peak hours, the average speed is 18 miles per hour. With Project Neon improvements, the average speed will increase to 56 miles per hour.