Las Vegas-to-California travelers pack I-15 near Primm

Las Vegas Review-Journal

3 years ago

Traffic backs up on Interstate 15 southbound near Jean, about 12 miles from the California bord ... — Traffic backs up on Interstate 15 southbound near Jean, about 12 miles from the California border, on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. (RTC traffic camera)

Southbound traffic on Interstate 15 backs up near the Nevada-California border at about 11:40 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. (RTC traffic camera)

It may have been a low-key Thanksgiving in Las Vegas, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, but the annual Sunday traffic jam on Interstate 15 lives on at the California-Nevada border in Primm.

Traffic was backed up as much as 12 miles on the way out of Las Vegas to California on Sunday, according to a tweet from the Regional Transportation Commission. Primm is about 45 miles southwest of Las Vegas.

#FASTALERT

11/29/2020 12:23 PM

Heavy Traffic I-15 South to California
12 Mile Back-Up
Expect Long Delays

— RTC Southern Nevada (@RTCSNV) November 29, 2020

By 4 p.m. the backup was down to 10 miles, the commission tweeted.

There are alternate routes, or travelers can try to wait out the ride back and leave later Sunday night.

On Labor Day weekend, tourists were stuck in a 22-mile backup on their way home to California.

In a recent report in the Review-Journal, data from the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada showed traffic volume on Interstate 15 at the Nevada-California border is up 8 percent through the third week of October. This marks the first monthly year-over-year increase on the stretch since the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts were felt.