PRIMM (KTNV) — More than 100 million people are expected to hit the road this holiday season nationwide according to AAA — that includes hundreds of thousands of drivers on one of the busiest and most important stretches of freeway in the country: I-15 between Southern Nevada and Southern California.
If you've ever done the drive between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, you know just now jammed up I-15 can get — I'm sure we all have plenty of frustrating stories about getting stuck in traffic near Primm, Baker or Barstow.
WATCH | Guy Tannenbaum reports on Southern Nevada Southern California leaders calling for improvements to I-15
Now, leaders in Southern Nevada and Southern California are putting their heads together to try and fix that, calling for improvements to I-15 through the high desert to make it smoother and safer for drivers.
Las Vegas local Robert Sottile is heading to the San Diego area for the holiday, and knows all too well what it's like to get stuck on the 15.
"We were coming back from California, and we saw that the 15 had been closed completely due to a truck fire," Sottile said.
You might remember what he's talking about — in fact Channel 13 covered it extensively.
Back in July 2024, a semi-truck carrying lithium batteries caught fire on I-15 between Baker and Barstow, shutting down the freeway for two full days.
"We ended up getting off and doing the backtrack through the Mojave wilderness area," Sottile said. "It added hours to our drive home."
Major incidents like that have prompted leaders from both Nevada and California to launch the "Coalition for Our Future" earlier this month, as a push to fix one of the busiest and most dangerous freeways in America.
"The I-15 corridor is a very sensitive area for us, especially between Barstow and the Nevada state line — every three days someone is critically injured or killed in this area," San Bernardino County Fire Chief Dan Munsey said.
Munsey says crashes on the 15 don't just cost lives — they can turn the desert into a parking lot for hours and delay first responders.
"There's only one fire engine that's coming from Baker, California, a very small community," Munsey said. "That fire engine responds to almost 3,500 square miles of area, so as it's traveling along that 15 freeway, it literally can drive for an hour to arrive at the scene of an accident."
Talks about improving this stretch of I-15 date back years, including a 2021 visit from then Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak and California Governor Gavin Newsom touting a multi-million dollar investment from CalTrans in widening I-15 near the state line.
"There's a deep urgency for us to meet this moment," Newsom said during the 2021 visit.
Former Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman was also a vocal proponent of the idea when she was in office.
"It's time now to take care of Barstow to state line Nevada," Goodman told Channel 13 in a 2024 interview following the lithium battery fire that closed I-15. "Do what you should have done a long time ago, and put it out there as the priority."
I-15 is a lifeline for Southern Nevada's economy, and the new coalition says traffic gridlock between Las Vegas and Los Angeles costs the region an estimated $3 billion a year.
"We are going to identify those pain points, identify improvements that need to be made and go ask government for funding," Jon Switalski with the Rebuild SoCal Partnership said at the Coalition for Our Future launch event in Fontana earlier this month.
Southern Nevada organizations a part of the coalition include the Vegas Chamber, Nevada Resort Association and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).
"Every year, millions of travelers use I-15 to experience all that Las Vegas and Southern California have to offer," LVCVA President Steve Hill said in a statement. "These visitors fuel local businesses and contribute billions to both states' tourism economies. Modernizing this corridor will improve safety, strengthen regional tourism and keep one of the West's most important economic engines moving."
Local drivers like Eric Wickham, who's on his way to visit family near Victorville for the holiday, love the idea of widening I-15 in California.
"There are too many cars trying to drive back and forth — more lanes just means more efficient drives," Wickham said. "I really think that would help out everybody that drives, whether they live out here in Vegas or in California."
Robert Sottile is on board with it, too.
"I think the study makes sense," Sottile said. "Obviously, we have Brightline opening up at some point, so that's going to help, but I don't see any reason why we wouldn't keep working on improving the road network as well."
The Coalition for Our Future study just kicked off and is set to take about a year and a half, so there won't be any relief on your drive this holiday season.
That means you should plan ahead, try to leave during non-peak travel hours if you can and be extra careful driving on I-15 over the next couple of weeks.
For more information about the Coalition for Our Future, visit their website by clicking here.
