HENDERSON (KTNV) — Heads up, drivers! Another expansion project is coming to the 215 Beltway—this time in Henderson.
City of Henderson officials broke ground on the $145 million project on Wednesday morning, which aims to relieve congestion on the beltway—especially between the Pecos Road/St. Rose Parkway and Stephanie Street exits.
VIDEO: Guy Tannenbaum breaks down the valley's latest 215 Beltway widening project
Crews will be adding two additional lanes in both directions of the 215 on the three-mile stretch of the beltway, which includes the Green Valley Parkway and Valle Verde Drive exits in Henderson.
The project will also add a new pedestrian bridge over Green Valley Parkway—connecting two sides of the District at Green Valley Ranch—and will reconfigure the Green Valley Parkway interchange into a diverging diamond interchange.
It will mark the second permanent diverging diamond interchange in Henderson—the first was at the I-11/US-95 and Horizon Drive interchange—and officials say it will improve traffic flow along Green Valley Parkway near the 215.
Construction on the project is set to start in July, and is scheduled to take two years and nine months, according to the City of Henderson.
Drivers who spoke with Channel 13 on Wednesday weren't thrilled to learn about more construction getting underway, but were hopeful that it will eventually alleviate congestion on the beltway during peak commute times.
"Traffic around here can be bad enough as it is," Henderson local Nancy Kennedy said. "To hear there's going to be more congestion, more delays, does not really thrill me."
Kennedy knows first-hand just how bad the backups can be, especially around the Pecos/St. Rose Parkway exit—a common bottleneck for traffic as eastbound lanes of the 215 go from four down to three.
"It's a horrible jam up, whether it's in the evening or even during the day," Kennedy said. "Just trying to get off at the exits, traffic backs up all the way onto the freeway. Trying to get off from one exit to another, I can't tell you how many times I've been almost hit by cars just trying to exit or get back on!"
While most Henderson drivers who spoke with Channel 13 think this project is going to help in the long run, they say getting there might be a bumpy ride.
 City of Henderson |  City of Henderson |
"These things aren't just completed in a couple months, it takes a couple of years," Kennedy said. "So, for those of us that have to live with that traffic—going to work, going home, going anywhere—it's horrible up until it's done."
When work gets underway on the Henderson 215 Widening Project, that will mark three major beltway construction projects going on at the same time. The other two? Clark County's reconfiguration of the 215/Summerlin Parkway interchange—which started earlier this year—and their widening project of the 215 from I-15 to Jones Boulevard—which was slated to wrap up this month.
For more information about the City of Henderson's 215 Widening Project, they created a website with a project overview, renderings and timelines: Henderson215.com.
It might be hard to keep up with all of these projects going on at the same time, but that's why we're here! Visit ktnv.com/traffic for the latest traffic stories and up-to-date information about road conditions around the Las Vegas valley.
If you have any questions about traffic in your neighborhood, reach out to Channel 13's Traffic Reporter Guy Tannenbaum, by emailing Guy.Tannenbaum@ktnv.com.
