In-N-Out
By Tony Illia

A new interchange could spell relief for Southern Nevada's heartburn- suffering motorists.

North Las Vegas, experienced a 17.7 percent population increase and became the nation's second-fastest growing city between April 2000 and July 2002 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It now has 135,902 residents, making it the state's third biggest city, and it's got more than enough traffic.

And now Las Vegas Paving Corp. is building the new $17.4 million Interstate-15/Lamb Boulevard interchange in North Las Vegas. It's the first inverted single-point urban interchange in Clark County and will enable I-15 traffic to cross over Lamb Boulevard.
It replaces the woefully inefficient 400-ft.-long, single-lane southbound I-15 flyover that was demolished in March.

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"Currently more than 27,000 vehicles use I-15 at Lamb Boulevard compared to 13,000 in 1993," said Robert McKenzie, Nevada Department of Transportation spokesman.

Once completed, the new NDOT-designed interchange will have a 62,000-vehicle-a- day capacity, more than doubling its current capacity. There will be two travel lanes in each direction for both Lamb and I-15.

The project requires roughly 200,000 cu. yards of excavation, plus 500,000 cu. yards of imported soil. The extensive earthwork is needed to depress Lamb Boulevard and gradually elevate I-15's roadway. Motorists will roll over two post-tensioned box girder bridge structures, each measuring 228 -ft.- long by 84- ft.- wide.

The interchange sits atop a foundation of 64 drilled caissons, averaging 4 -ft. in diameter and 70 feet. deep. With a 17-ft.-high clearance, the bridges will have 1,500-ft.-long on-and-off ramps plus two new traffic signals.

And the work must be done while keeping traffic moving on I-15, said Randy Rosenberg, Las Vegas Paving's project manager. "We created 11,000 ft. worth of asphalt frontage roads with two lanes in each direction in order to accomplish that task," he added.

Jill Sims, NDOT's resident engineer, said construction activity has been kept on track because the project is on the outskirts of the Las Vegas Valley, and "we were able to detour I-15 traffic around our work zone."

The interchange, as part of NDOT's beautification program, will have a distinctive look.
For example, the bridge abutments will be painted tan with inlaid decorative airplane and balloon designs that celebrates nearby Nellis Air Force base and its contribution to the community.

Additionally, there will be $400,000 of desert landscaping consisting of palm trees, drought-tolerant bushes and gravel rock. Valley Crest Cos., of Calabasas, Calif., is landscape contractor, and Poggemeyer Design Group Inc., of Bowling Green, Ohio, is the landscape architect.

There will also be bridge lights and sidewalks. Vegas Electric Inc., of Las Vegas, is the electrical contractor.

"It's no different from building a normal single-point urban interchange except that it's upside down," explained Jill Sims, NDOT's resident engineer. "Since this is located on the outskirts of the Las Vegas Valley, we were able to detour I-15 traffic around our work zone, which has really helped expedite construction activity."

Scheduled to finish by May, the 12-month project will require 7,000- cu. yards of concrete, 40,000 tons of asphalt and 1.4 million pounds of reinforcing steel to finish.

Steel Engineers Inc., of Las Vegas, is the steel supplier. Las Vegas Paving is self-performing the earthwork, paving and concrete.

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