LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The diverging diamond over I-15 is closing the Tropicana bridge from midnight to 5:00 am.
Tuesday morning, further impacting access to a busy burger chain as drivers continue to
incorrectly navigate construction leading to it.
The road interchange was installed in January as Dropicana construction began, a project to
widen and heighten the Tropicana Bridge between Las Vegas Boulevard and Dean Martin that
no longer meets federal height requirements.
Tuesday morning’s closure will mark the fourth temporary closure since installation, according to Department of Transportation (NDOT) Public Information Officer Justin Hopkins.
He said rain and constant driving continue to fade striping and retroreflective markers on the road, warranting these “maintenance closures”.
“All of what’s been put down is temporary during construction. As such, it comes up, it fades with time, it needs to be refreshed,” Hopkins said outside NDOT’s Washington Avenue office Monday morning.
Previous closures were used to do similar work after wet weather, along with adjusting and adding roadway signage that directs drivers on how to navigate the interchange. He adds other engineering changes are made to “hopefully fix some of that driver confusion.”
But, as Hopkins acknowledges, some drivers are still not getting it.
Diverging diamond interchanges direct traffic to the opposite side of the road before
directing it back to the proper side. Hopkins says these are frequently seen beneath or above
freeway bridges to allow access to freeway on-ramps without stopping or conflicting with through traffic.
When used properly, the interchange improves traffic flow and congestion. That is not what Ron Albo says he’s witnessed.
“It’s a nightmare,” Albo said on the western portion of the construction. “I told (my friend driving), ‘don’t go that way because we’re going to have a hassel,’ which I did.”
Albo was walking into the Tropicana and Dean Martin In-N-Out Burger when 8 News Now spoke to him. Seemingly, fewer and fewer people are stopping for a burger here.
Max Adrian Burton, who said he works as a security officer for this In-N-Out, has seen a decrease in customers driving or walking in since he began his position a month before Dropicana began.
“(Customers) are complaining that it’s more difficult to get over here. They don’t like
taking the back roads to get here,” Burton said outside the store Monday. “It really impacted a lot of things. It made my job easier though.”
Hopkins says drivers should expect these kinds of temporary overnight closures “every couple of months” as maintenance needs arise throughout construction. No official closure schedule
is in place, he said.
As for concerns drivers continue to incorrectly navigate the diverging diamond, Hopkins adds
NDOT is constantly evaluating and “engineering” methods for drivers to better comprehend the
interchange.
“It can be a little bit confusing if you add too many signs, so we’re trying to find the
happy medium of how much signage should be there and what is the most effective way to put
it all in there,” Hopkins said.
A diverging diamond interchange is expected on the Tropicana bridge throughout 2024, ahead of the completed Dropicana construction expected in 2025.
Hopkins urges drivers to follow signage rather than the car in front of them to best avoid improper navigation.