Prepare for traffic nightmare as EDC fans head to Speedway
Nearly anyone hitting Interstate 15 this weekend can expect some jams.
About 140,000 high-energy music fans driving to the Electric Daisy Carnival will create a traffic nightmare on the freeway headed to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend.
But the Nevada Highway Patrol suggests a road that’s surprisingly less traveled during the event: Las Vegas Boulevard.
Highway Patrol Trooper Jason Buratczuk said that satellite-based global positioning systems usually search for the most direct path to a destination, but seldom offer alternate routes. Other times, Buratczuk said, it comes down to a lack of knowledge, because most of the music festival’s attendees are from out of town.
“During the last NASCAR race, we were experiencing heavy traffic delays on the northbound I-15, but only slightly moderate traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard leading to the Speedway,” Buratczuk said.
Motorists can expect traffic snarls to start Friday afternoon on northbound I-15 between Craig Road and Speedway Boulevard, where construction crews are widening the freeway. Two lanes of traffic will remain open in each direction, Nevada Department of Transportation spokesman Tony Illia said.
The worst traffic is expected to be during the morning commute on Monday, when EDC attendees are expected to head home as local residents go to work.
Live camera feeds of local roads will be monitored from a traffic management operated by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada.
EDC organizer Insomniac will operate 100 buses on a continuous loop between parking lots at Craig Ranch Park in North Las Vegas to the Speedway. Taxicabs, Uber and Lyft will also offer rides to and from the event.
Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Find @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.