‘Strange embedded things’ on I-15 have a purpose
You’ve heard that story about the blind men describing the elephant. Each person had different descriptions of what it was based on what part of the elephant they were touching.
The one holding the tail said it was like a rope. The one touching the ear said it was like a big fan. The one touching the tusk said it was like a solid pipe, and the one touching the belly thought it was like a wall.
That’s kind of the way things went for me last week when Warrior reader Ken asked about “those strange embedded things on I-15 and many other highways that are about 4 to 6 inches wide and about 12-14 inches long and go on for many miles.”
Nevada Department of Transportation spokesman Tony Illia and I thought Ken was talking about those raised pavement lane markers.
But several Warrior readers emailed in that they thought he was instead talking about something else.
In an effort to solve the mystery, Illia and his crack research team came up with this: It’s a dowel bar retrofit.
Oh, of course. That!
So what’s a dowel bar retrofit and what do they do?
“A dowel bar retrofit is a method of reinforcing concrete pavement cracks by inserting steel dowel bars in saw cut slots cut across the cracks,” Illia said. “It helps address faulting in older pavements while also giving them some flexibility.”
He said there’s only one prominent example in Southern Nevada.
It’s along the far right lane of northbound Interstate 15, just south of Sloan.
The dowel bar retrofit even has its own Wikipedia page if you want to get a look at them.
Asphalt spillage
Warrior reader William has a problem with freeway littering, but it doesn’t have anything to do with all those inconsiderates who toss trash out their windows or flick cigarette butts onto the roadway:
“I am a 45-year resident of Nevada and have traveled nationwide since I was 16 years old. I have seen every condition of road possible and dodged trash and tires and even drunks from Maine to California.
“We have had the occasion to travel both north and south on U.S. Highway 95, five round trips in the past four weeks and have never seen such a case of littering on the paved surface caused by Las Vegas Paving dropping asphalt while in transit to their job site between Indian Springs and Mercury.
“There is no way one can keep from hitting the humps of asphalt. Some are large enough to knock a front end out of alignment easily, especially on an older vehicle.
“When is this going to be scraped off the highway and cleaned up? It may be involuntarily littering but it is a hazard first and foremost, not to mention the lost asphalt and money spent to correct the problem by taxpayers.”
With apologies to former first lady Hillary Clinton, to build a highway, it takes some spillage. And NDOT has taken note of that local asphalt debris.
“The Nevada Department of Transportation earlier this year began a $22 million pavement resurfacing of U.S. Highway 95 from Indian Springs to Mercury,” Illia said. “The 17-mile-long project entails milling and asphalt overlay across a median-divided four-lane freeway that begins in northwest Clark County and concludes in southeast Nye County.
“The improvements entail placing 200,000 tons of asphalt or enough material to fill up 1,800 swimming pools. The contractor, as a result, has 20 trucks running 12 hours a day that haul 4,000 tons of asphalt per load. Trucks must travel 40 miles each way from the asphalt batch plant to the jobsite, equating to 5,000 truckloads throughout the life of the project.
“Consequently, there is some small asphalt spillage that occurs, which will be cleaned up starting in mid-October when paving work has concluded. The project, however, won’t finish until year’s end due to other improvements, which include flattening out the roadside shoulders for safer turnout areas and making drainage enhancements, among other things.”
New laws
I hope all readers had a look at colleague Wesley Juhl’s story on new traffic laws that took effect last week.
The big ones involve leaving the scene of an accident and driving in school zones.
Before Thursday, motorists who left the scene of an accident resulting in substantial bodily harm or death could get probation when sentenced. That is no longer the case under the new law.
A common occurrence was that impaired drivers left the scene of an accident in an attempt to dodge driving-while-intoxicated penalties. They would leave the scene, sleep it off, then turn themselves in to authorities, saying, “Gee, I didn’t realize I even hit that guy.”
Now, the penalties are more severe for leaving the scene with those convicted looking at two to 20 years in prison with no chance of probation.
Motorists also can no longer make U-turns or change lanes to pass another vehicle in school zones. Fines can be up to $1,000 higher, and prison terms can be up to six months longer for persons convicted under the new school zone laws.
And NDOT can raise the speed limit to 80 mph on interstate highways. But don’t expect to see the limit go up on I-15 any time soon. In all likelihood, the only 80 mph limits will be seen on Interstate 80 in Northern Nevada.
Questions and comments should be sent to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com. Please include your phone number. Follow the Road Warrior on Twitter: @RJroadwarrior.
Road Work Ahead
— Intermittent lane closures are planned on Harmon Avenue at Las Vegas Boulevard, and 24-hour lane closures are scheduled on two northbound and two southbound lanes on Las Vegas Boulevard between Harmon and Aria Place through mid-October for sewer construction work. Work will be conducted from 11 p.m. to 10 a.m. Mondays through Fridays.
— Tamarus Street will be restricted to one lane in both directions between Warm Springs Road and Eldorado Lane, Mondays through Fridays through Oct. 31 from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. for a sewer line project.
— The south side of Warm Springs Road will be restricted between Caliente and Tamarus streets Mondays through Fridays from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Oct. 31 for a water reclamation line project. Two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane will be open on the north side of Warm Springs.
— Lane closures and shifts are planned on Durango Drive between Tropicana Avenue and Desert Inn Road through October. Traffic delays are expected, and motorists are encouraged to find alternative routes while the paving and sidewalk replacement project is completed.
— Sewer lines and manhole work will restrict traffic on Tropicana Avenue about 300 feet west of Wetlands Park Lane to about 300 feet east of the intersection. Eastbound and westbound traffic will be pushed to the north side of Broadbent Boulevard and to the south side past the intersection. Restrictions start about 300 feet from Broadbent and Broadlake Lane with northbound and southbound traffic being pushed to the east side of Broadbent. Work will occur from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Oct. 31.
— Two northbound lanes of Bermuda Road between Eldorado Lane and Warm Springs Road will be restricted for a sewer line project through Nov. 3. Two southbound lanes of Bermuda will be unaffected. Construction work is scheduled from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
— Traffic will be restricted at Koval Lane and Tropicana Avenue for intermittent sewer work through Nov. 20. The inside northbound lane of Koval to 300 feet north of the intersection, and one of the two left-turn lanes from southbound Koval to eastbound Tropicana will be restricted with work planned Mondays through Fridays from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
— Lane shifts have occurred along the northern 215 Beltway between North Fifth Street and Aliante Parkway for the construction of permanent roadway, a concrete barrier and street lights. Speed limits have been reduced to 45 mph, and the shift will be in effect through fall.
— Main Street traffic has been shifted to the west side of the roadway to the new pavement on the east side of the street to allow workers to start sidewalk removal between Bridger and Bonneville avenues. Work will continue between Bonneville and the U.S. Highway 95 overpass through the end of 2015.
— Lane restrictions are planned in both directions of West Charleston Boulevard between Montclair Street and Decatur Boulevard Mondays through Thursdays from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Access to businesses might be temporarily altered and travel lanes reduced through the construction zone. Left-turn lanes at the intersection of Charleston and Decatur will be reduced to single lanes. Montclair will remain open, but there will be no access to or from westbound Charleston. Montclair will be restricted to right turns only onto Charleston, and motorists turning from Montclair onto eastbound Charleston will only be able to turn right at Decatur. The project is scheduled to be completed in late December.
Gasoline prices
The average gasoline price Friday in the Las Vegas Valley was $2.99 per gallon. It was $2.90 in Nevada. The national average of $2.30 is the same as a week ago, down 15 cents from a month ago and down $1.03 from a year ago.
