In a blog post on Aug. 24, Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Brandye Hendrickson touted the long-term benefits of the Interstate 11 project near Boulder City, Nevada, located southeast of Las Vegas.
The Nevada Department of Transportation in partnership with the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada recently completed the “first phase” of I-11 construction, she said, with help from nearly $400 million in federal funding.
“It’s an exemplary project in supporting many of our goals, including enhanced safety, less congestion and more efficient movement of freight,” Hendrickson noted. “The project’s benefits at the local level include removing truck traffic from Boulder City while providing truck operators an alternate and more direct route around the city.”
Yet I-11 overall is a “regionally significant” project, she stressed; marking the “first step” in connecting Las Vegas and Phoenix, which are the two largest metropolitan communities in the United States of more than one million residents that are not linked by an interstate highway.
“I-11 also supports one of the FHWA’s infrastructure goals by not only improving mobility and accessibility but also stimulating economic growth, productivity and competitiveness,” Hendrickson explained.
“Although there is more work ahead before completing the link, motorists commuting between Las Vegas and Arizona will get some congestion relief now that this first 15-mile portion of I-11 is open to traffic,” she added.
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