Expect overnight delays on US 95 in northwest Las Vegas

A rendering showing a planned diverging diamond interchange at Kyle Canyon Road, that temporarily shifts traffic to the left side of the road, thereby keeping traffic flowing through two pairs of unimpeded left turns onto and off the freeway. The interchange is part of a $78 million widening project of U.S. Highway 95 in northwest Las Vegas. (Nevada Department of Transportation)

Drivers on U.S. Highway 95 in the northwest portion of Las Vegas can expect delays next week.

U.S. 95 southbound between Skye Canyon Park and Elkhorn drives will be reduced to one lane, with intermittent closures lasting up to 30 minutes, nightly from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. from Sunday through Dec. 19, the Nevada Department of Transportation announced Tuesday. Additionally, both freeway onramps from Durango Drive to U.S. 95 will close to traffic during those times.

The closures are for work that is part of a $78 million, 6-mile-long widening and upgrade of U.S. 95 between Ann and Kyle Canyon roads.

“This project will relieve congestion, improve efficiency and enhance safety in fast-growing northwest Las Vegas, while providing capacity for future growth and development,” said Tony Illia, NDOT spokesman. “Currently, over 52,000 vehicles daily travel through this corridor; however, traffic is expected to more than double over the next two decades.”

The project includes expanding the highway from four to six lanes from Durango Drive to Kyle Canyon Road, constructing Elkhorn Road carpool access ramps and building a diverging diamond interchange at Kyle Canyon Road, that temporarily shifts traffic to the left side of the road, thereby keeping traffic flowing through two pairs of unimpeded left turns onto and off the freeway.

The project will also be the second in Las Vegas to feature a radar-based wrong-way driver warning system that uses rapid flashing beacons to alert a driver headed in the wrong direction. Six wrong-way driver signs will be installed there, with two at Durango Road, two at Kyle Canyon Road and two at Skye Canyon Park Drive, NDOT said. The signs will be operational early next year.

The signs are aimed at decreasing wrong-way driving, which caused 279 crashes, resulting in 41 fatalities and 125 injuries statewide between 2005 and 2015, NDOT said.

Other features include placing decorative rock, storm drainage, new signage and lighting. The project is scheduled to finish next fall.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.