News
City of Henderson Opens Auto Show Drive Interchange Thursday
Only full interchange in Southern Nevada utilizing braided ramp design and second interchange
in Henderson to open in recent months
January 11, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE
PLEASE CONTACT CINDY HERMAN, (702) 267-2051
Henderson, Nev. – The City of Henderson will join with project partners in opening the final phase of the $34.5 million Auto Show Drive Interchange off I-515 on Thursday, January 12 at 11 a.m. on the Auto Show Drive bridge. Auto Show Drive Interchange partners, along with the City of Henderson, include the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) and Valley Automall Owners Association.
“We are very excited to open the Auto Show Drive Interchange to commuters in Southern Nevada,” said City of Henderson Mayor James B. Gibson. “The design and aesthetic detail on this project are great, and I believe anyone using it will really appreciate what has been done to make their commute a little easier and more pleasant.”
Henderson City Councilman Steven D. Kirk will preside over the ceremony. Joining Mayor Gibson as part of the program will be U.S. Congressman Jon C. Porter, U.S. Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, NDOT Deputy Director Rudy Malfabon, and Valley Automall Owners Association Chairman H. Gary Ackerman.
The Auto Show Drive Interchange opens to the public as a tight-diamond interchange providing access to the Valley Automall and neighborhoods west of the freeway as well as Eastgate Road and commercial centers to the east. The interchange utilizes a fully braided ramp design that provides for fluid transportation movement between I-515 and the interchange connecting to I-215.
"The Auto Show Drive Interchange is another project that will contribute to our goal of improved regional mobility," said RTC General Manager Jacob Snow. "This is just one more example of the teamwork needed to ensure we provide transportation options as our community grows."
Project components include a 205-foot-long and 90-foot-wide bridge extending Auto Show Drive over I-515 to Eastgate Road, southbound and northbound on- and off-ramps, two 500-foot-long ramps braided with system-to-system ramps of the I-515/I-215 Interchange, and a traffic signal at Auto Show Drive and North Gibson Road. Aesthetic treatments such as artistic painting on the bridge and ramps, high-mast lighting along I-515 near the Auto Show Drive Interchange, and rock landscaping are also part of the project.
“We estimate that in the year 2025, approximately 12,500 north-to-south vehicle trips will occur per hour during the evening peak hours on I-515 north of the Auto Show Drive Interchange,” said NDOT Deputy Director Rudy Malfabon.
Funding for the project includes $14,310,000 from RTC Gas Tax, $12,175,000 from RTC Question 10 roadway funds, $6,315,789 from NDOT and $1,700,000 from the Valley Automall Owners Association.
“We are proud of our partnership with the City of Henderson, NDOT, RTC, and others in bringing this great interchange to fruition,” said H. Gary Ackerman, Valley Automall Owners Association chairman.
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