The Nevada Department of Transportation broke ground Thursday on a $78 million widening and upgrade to a six-mile-long stretch of U.S. 95 between Ann and Kyle Canyon roads in northwest Las Vegas.
Las Vegas Paving is the general contractor under a low bid construction contract is valued at $64.6 million.
The project calls for expanding the highway from four to six lanes from Durango Drive to Kyle Canyon Road, constructing Elkhorn Road carpool access ramps and building a diverging diamond interchange at Kyle Canyon Road that will feature a pole-mounted, electrically powered and self-contained wrong way driver alert sign.
Other enhancements entail placing decorative rock, erecting signage and lighting, and installing Intelligent Transportation Systems and nearly nine miles of barrier rail. Additionally, the project will place 11,200 feet of concrete box storm drainage and 400 feet of open channel between the Centennial Bowl and Grand Teton Drive for the Clark County Regional Flood Control District.
The improvements will require moving enough dirt to fill 304 Olympic-sized swimming pools, placing enough concrete to pave 2,000 driveways, and using enough steel to build 100 Sherman tanks. The project is being underwritten by a combination of federal ($42.4 million), state ($2.2 million) and local ($33.4 million) funds. Construction will finish in the fall of 2019.
