Officials respond to frustrations about I-15 construction toward Las Vegas

ST. GEORGE — Motorists who travel between Southern Utah and Las Vegas likely have experienced the frustrations of construction and traffic congestion on Interstate 15.

The Virgin River Bridge No. 1 Project, rebuilding of the bridge in full swing by ADOT within the Arizona Strip, nearby Beaver Dam, Ariz., Aug. 4, 2022 | Photo by Jason Andrus, St. George News

There are currently two main areas of construction: one in Mesquite, Nevada, and the other near mile marker 8 in Arizona.

The Mesquite Interstate 15 Project is just south of the popular eastern Nevada town, while the Virgin River Bridge No. 1 Project is going on at the Beaver Dam and Littlefield exit.

The resulting traffic delays have spilled over as travelers have been expressing their full frustrations with messages to St. George News, as well as postings on social media. They also have the Nevada and Arizona department of transportation.

Several crashes in or near the work zones have compounded the situation.

Project officials say the construction projects are designed to improve the roadways both technologically and structurally.

The dawn of the Mesquite I-15 ITS Project

Justin Hopkins, public information officer of the Nevada Department of Transportation, said the Mesquite project began the second week of January and has several contracted agencies involved – Las Vegas Paving and the city of Mesquite.

The city’s benefit comes from the work on the northbound lanes of I-15. The project’s objectives for the northbound lanes are the digging of a trench and laying of fiber optic cable. This will connect Mesquite with the rest of Southern Nevada’s NDOT system of cameras, Hopkins said.

The end result will be the ability to notify travelers of Amber Alerts and other emergencies, capture video footage for traffic investigations and offer better signage for up-to-the-minute traffic updates and more.

The southbound lanes construction is predominantly in one major area: the incline up to the top of Mormon Mesa by mile marker 112 for erosion and drainage control and repair, Hopkins said.

Due to the incline and the physical properties of the soil and sand, as well as water runoff from the mesa, the side of the hill under the road was eroding, and the interstate lanes needed to be reinforced to ensure the safety of all travelers on the freeway.

Rumors have flooded social media that the construction for the southbound lanes was not part of the original project plans. However, Hopkins denied the rumors.

The Mesquite ITS I-15 Project, has ITS fiber optic cable being laid by Las Vegas Paving under contract with NDOT nearby Mesquite, NV, Aug. 4, 2022 | Photo by Nick Yamashita, St. George News

“The southbound erosion and drainage repair were already planned as part of the project,” he said.

The project will have a final cost of $40 million and involves multiple agencies working together to ensure completion.

Virgin River Bridge No. 1 Project

Starting almost a year before the construction project of the neighboring NDOT, Arizona Department of Transportation kicked off this project on Feb. 8, 2021. The primary goal of the project is the rebuilding of the Virgin River Bridge No. 1.

ADOT Public Information Officer for Northern Arizona Ryan Harding said their approach for rebuilding the bridge had to do with overall cost and various environmental factors.

“Because of the cost involved and various environmental considerations, rebuilding the bridge one half at a time is the most effective and cost-efficient way to replace the bridge and reduce its footprint in the gorge,” Harding said.

Currently, the southern half of the bridge is being constructed.

The construction will take a while, Harding said. The structure is not a small structure; it extends nearly 1,000 feet in length and more than 100 feet in height.

The bridge was found to have cracks and “wear and tear” that would result in structural failure within a couple of years if the rebuilding did not happen.

The final cost of the project is just shy of $56 million.

Growing frustrations

The frustrations of everyday travel started almost immediately after several problems with traffic congestion resulted in as long as four hours of wait-time during some occurrences.

Both Hopkins and Harding reported receiving numerous complaints.

“ADOT is aware of the significant impact on the traveling public and is constantly evaluating ways that congestion might be alleviated while maintaining safety,” Harding said,

Added Hopkins: “NDOT has a regional engineer along with other proper personnel are always trying to re-evaluate and ensure the impact on traffic congestion is lessened, and safety of travelers is maximized as much as possible.”

The frustrations of vehicle accidents

FILE: View of a vehicle after a collision with a semi-truck within the Mesquite I15 ITS Project work zone, Mesquite, Nevada, July 23, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Mesquite Fire and Rescue, St. George News

The increase in traffic and vehicle accidents within or near these specific work zones has triggered frustrations with both NDOT and ADOT seeking answers to serious damage, injuries and even deaths.

When asked about statistics of accidents within the construction sites, NDOT did not have those statistics but referred St. George News to Nevada Highway Patrol or Las Vegas Paving.

ADOT reported 17 crashes (vehicle accidents) within the work zone. Harding said none of the accidents resulted in death, while two involved injuries.

“Our crash data is based on officers’ crash reports, and it can take up to a year to receive crash reports from law enforcement agencies,” said Harding to emphasize the fact that the statistics may not be precise.

Research done on local news, social media posts and traffic sources revealed 31 accidents due to work zone traffic since the beginning of the projects. The results have been 10 fatalities, 30 serious or critically injured and 28 minor injuries or no injuries. Of the fatalities, one was a pedestrian walking on the interstate.

The accidents occurred on three  locations with the following results:

A chart of traffic accidents and fatalities between St. George and Las Vegas in or near work zones for 2022, Aug. 11, 2022 | Chart by Nick Yamashita, St. George News
  • I-15 south of Mesquite (between Exit 93 Moapa Valley and exit 122 Sandhill Blvd of Mesquite)
  • 11 accidents with seven fatalities
  • I-15 north of Mesquite (between the Virgin River Gorge and Exit 122 Sandhill Blvd of Mesquite)
  • 17 accidents with no fatalities
  • Old Dixie Highway 91 (between Ivins and Beaver Dam Exit at I-15)
  • Three accidents, with four fatalities (3 motorcyclists)

These statistics are based on media resources and may not contain actual statistics pertaining to vehicle accident incidents officially reported to law enforcement and proper authorities.

Common-place frustrations

Some of the equipment used by Las Vegas Paving for the NDOT Mesquite I-15 ITS Project by mm 112, Bunkerville, Nevada, August 4, 2022 | Photo by Nick Yamashita, St. George News

Questions and issues being raised by travelers include:

Why can’t they open both lanes up while no work is being done?

I never see any work being done.

Why aren’t more workers working, so they finish faster?

Why are they doing construction now in the summer when everyone travels, why not other times of the year?

The signs and cones are not placed right. Why not signs or cones earlier?

NDOT and ADOT obviously did not communicate since they are doing the construction simultaneously.

Frustration Aspects of Regular Travelers

Two regular travelers recently expressed some of their frustrations, relaying what they have observed regarding the daily travel of the referenced work zones.

Nicole Hartman is a massage therapist who travels almost daily between Moapa Valley and Mesquite in Nevada for work.

“It is freaking ridiculous,” Hartman said. “I am so sick of it.”

Hartman relayed her perception of workers standing around, never doing work, always on their phones, not calling but playing on them. She continued to express her disappointment in the fact that every day she travels to Mesquite, she claims the workers are constantly playing on their phones and not working.

“It takes me 40-plus minutes just to get onto the freeway at 112. Freaking ridiculous,” she wrote.

Johnny Carroll of Cedar City, Utah, travels from St. George to Las Vegas 4-5 days per week as the driver for St. George Shuttle.

“I understand they have to do construction and fix the roads, but it is frustrating seeing so many not working or standing around, even on their phones playing,” Carroll said.

Carroll defined his stance by relating a difference in efficiency in the procedure of the two projects by both states.

“Arizona by the bridge has not been a huge problem,” he said. “They seem to have the fluency working better and definitely more being done. “I don’t know what Nevada thinks they are doing, but they are way slower than Arizona and way less inefficient”

Carroll did say there were problems with certain drivers who tries to bypass traffic by exiting and re-entering I-15 by one exit or trying to go back-roads and back on I-15.

“It definitely clogs the flow, and yes, people don’t merge or practice common courtesy nowadays. It does make things worse,” said Carroll. “Still, NDOT can do more whether more crews working or something else.”

Hopkins said simply: “We are pretty good most days.”

In relation to the common frustrations listed above, the following responses were provided by both Hopkins and Harding as representatives of NDOT and ADOT:

Traffic goes back for miles on I-15 Southbound in the work zone of NDOT Mesquite I-15 ITS Project by mm 112, Bunkerville, Nevada, August 4, 2022 | Photo by Nick Yamashita, St. George News

Why can’t they open both lanes up while no work is being done?

    • NDOT: “There is no second lane currently. It is a pretty significant drop and actually inaccessible. We are digging trenches on the northbound and reinforcing on the southbound. There are no lanes.”
    • ADOT: “There is no second lane on the bridge because rebuilding the bridge one half at a time is the most effective and cost-efficient way to replace the bridge.”
  • I never see any work being done.
    • NDOT: “The workers work weekdays with weekends off. Because of the safety of workers, especially heat-related issues, the workers tend to work more when less traffic during the night and early morning hours.”
    • ADOT: “Construction crews are working at least six days a week, most weeks, to keep the project moving forward. Much of the work takes place below the bridge and out of the sight of motorists, which is why they may not see many workers.”
  • Why aren’t more workers working so they finish faster?
    • NDOT: “We can’t have too many workers on the site as it may actually cause delays and more problems.”
    • ADOT: “There is also limited space on and under the bridge, and specific tasks which need to be sequentially completed, so too many on-site workers can hinder progress at times.”
  • Why are they doing construction now in the summer when everyone travels? Why not other times of the year?
    • NDOT: “Part of the reason for the times of the year that construction is done is specific to the materials used for the road. The drying process of paving is achieved much faster in the summer months.”
    • ADOT: “The heat from the summer months helps the materials dry quicker, which reduces the probability of needing repairs quicker in the future. Outside of those summer months, it is too cold for the asphalt to properly cure.”
  • The signs and cones are not placed right. Why not signs or cones earlier?
    • NDOT: “It doesn’t matter how far we extend the cones because of the type of work being done. As for signage, we place what is required plus more for signs. However, we are always open to suggestions for review on signage.”
    • ADOT: “We keep the construction zone as small as possible to prevent less backup and congestion. We always will do everything according to the safety of everyone in mind.”
  • NDOT and ADOT obviously did not communicate since they are doing the construction simultaneously.
    • NDOT: “We have kept ADOT in the loop of all of our communication pertaining to the ITS project. We communicate with them any changes and plans for the project.”
    • ADOT: “ADOT plans its projects based on available funding and organizes those projects into our Five-Year Construction Program, which is updated annually. The project to rebuild Bridge No. 1 started when the funding was available based on our Five Year Plan. ADOT provided notification regarding the start of this project to NDOT, and they have been invited to our regular traffic management meetings. This project started prior to NDOT’s work in Mesquite.”

Investigation findings of accidents and traffic congestion

View semi-truck damage from a collision by mm 112, Mesquite, Nevada, July 23, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Mesquite Fire and Rescue, St. George News

According to research and responses from both ADOT and NDOT, the most common causes of accidents and citations issued within the work zones are (in order of most to least common): Speeding, distracted driving, failure to yield, failure to maintain proper lane of travel, driving under the influence and driving drowsy.

“Many of the issues and crashes come from drivers disregarding the signs and using the highway shoulders to pass other drivers and cut back into the lanes,” Harding said. “This compounds the issues along that stretch, making it worse.”

Dusk into sundown of projects

The southbound lanes of the NDOT project are scheduled to have the second lane repaired and back open with only paving left before Labor Day Weekend. While the northbound lanes won’t have the trench-digging complete until mid-end of September.

“After that, it will just be repaving and similar repairs until the end of the year,” Hopkins said.

Completion is expected by the end of 2022.

The Virgin River Bridge No. 1 Project has an estimated completion date of spring 2024.

Recommendations

The Virgin River Bridge No. 1 Project, rebuilding of the bridge in full swing by ADOT within the AZ strip, nearby Beaver Dam, AZ, Aug. 4, 2022 | Photo by Jason Andrus, St. George News

Hopkins recommended that drivers be respectful of others and encourage everyone to understand and utilize the zipper merge.

“We see a lot of drivers speeding and cutting in front of others to save time, straddle the lanes and don’t anticipate brake time, especially with semi-trailers,” Hopkins said. “Do some of your own enforcement and respect others, be patient. If you don’t, then it causes road rage and unsafe conditions.”

Added Harding: “Even though it might seem counterintuitive, the best advice for drivers is to stay on I-15 and not exit the highway in an attempt to shortcut the backups. This only makes matters worse when they try to re-enter I-15. Many of the issues and crashes come from drivers disregarding the signs and using the highway shoulders to pass other drivers and cut back into the lanes. This compounds the issues along that stretch, making it worse.”

ADOT and NDOT say they understand the frustration that comes with backups and slow moving traffic  through that area. They continue to evaluate and modify traffic control as needed. Their best advice to drivers is to pracrtice patience, slow down and obey the traffic control and signage through the work zone.

Also, they both recommend traveling on Thursdays-Sundays early mornings before 8 a.m. and nights after 9 p.m.

NDOT recommends monitoring the NDOT website to keep up to date with the progression of all of their current projects.

ADOT recommends downloading the Virgin River Bridge app or to visit the ADOT website to get regular updates on the project and traffic restriction information. App download for Android click here. App download for IOS click here.

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

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