I-15 road construction in Nevada: Good news and bad news

The southbound lanes of Interstate 15 nearby Mesquite have been opened up to two lanes after eight months of construction, Bunkerville, NV, Sept. 21, 2022 | Photo by Nick Yamashita, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Good news and bad news for the road construction on I-15 in Nevada. The bad news: Paving still needs to be completed from about mile marker 95 near the Overton exit to Mesquite, and crews are behind schedule. The good news: Both lanes are now open southbound at about mile marker 112.

File photo. The northbound lanes south of Mesquite are still merged down to one lane while ITS fiber optic cable is being laid, Mesquite, Nev., Aug. 4, 2022 | Photo by Nick Yamashita, St. George News

On Wednesday, both lanes were reopened for traffic southbound. The plans were for the lane to be reopened by Labor Day weekend, but due to unexpected land erosion problems and other issues, the predicted date of repair work being completed had to be pushed back a couple more weeks.

The construction work zone area by the Bunkerville exit has been at the center of state and national news as vehicle accidents and fatalities were prevalent over the course of the project.

Investigation findings found the cause of such collisions were speeding, failure to yield when switching lanes, and failure to obey construction signs. The frustrations of the work zone became a daily occurrence on social media and with travelers headed southbound. The trips from St. George to Las Vegas were reported by travelers through the work zone during the last 8 months as taking anywhere from four to nine hours to complete, adding an extra travel time of two to seven hours longer than normal travel.

The southbound lanes were behind schedule and were not the only lanes running late on completion. The northbound lanes were scheduled to be completed by the middle of September, but with October on the horizon, one lane remains closed. A trench running for a couple of miles still can be observed.

When the Nevada Department of Transportation public information officer, Justin Hopkins, was contacted by St. George News, he replied some things were harder than expected, and it was running behind schedule. He said he would give a formal update next week.

Once the northbound lanes are reopened to two lanes after completion of the laying of the fiber optic cable, then there still will be paving, which needs to be completed for about 22 miles of roadway. The paving time was expected and scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

The southbound lanes up Mormon Mesa were for eight months congested with traffic during construction nearby Mesquite, NV, Aug. 4, 2022 | Photo by Nick Yamashita, St. George News

The paving will be done during nighttime hours to help with travel traffic and the health and safety of the workers.

The Virgin River Bridge Project in Arizona by Beaver Dam and Littlefield is still scheduled to be completed by Spring 2024. No other updates about the bridge project were available.

The best times to travel that area of I-15 is before 8-10 p.m. (PDT). NDOT still recommends having plenty of fuel and water and expecting delays at certain times of the day, especially during travel hours to work and after-work shifts.

This traffic news update will be updated as the official report from NDOT is received next week.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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