Traffic volumes down 36% in March on Las Vegas Valley freeways

With half of March falling under Gov. Steve Sisolak’s instructions for Nevadans to stay home as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, traffic on Clark County roads decreased sharply compared with the same month last year.

Following the March 17 directive to shut nonessential businesses and the mandated closing of Las Vegas casino properties, traffic volumes fell as much as 73 percent on area roadways compared with March 2019, according to data from the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada.

The biggest drop was on Interstate 15 near the Nevada-California line, where traffic fell 73 percent in the fourth week of March, compared with the same week in March 2019. The month started out quite normally with a 1 percent dip in traffic during the first week of March.

As a whole, average traffic volumes on Las Vegas Valley freeways fell nearly 36 percent by the end March, compared with the same time last year, based off 13 sites on I-15, U.S. Highway 95 and the 215 Beltway.

Traffic on a stretch of I-15 from near the 215 Beltway on the south to near Craig Road on the north fell 40 percent by the end of the month compared with March 2019 numbers. That stretch started the month up nearly 5 percent in traffic volume before the stay-at-home order came down.

With the decrease in traffic volume, traffic speed increased on I-15 during peak hours. Traffic speed during the morning rush hour on I-15 increased 8 percent, jumping from 65 mph to 70 mph, while evening rush hour speeds were found to be 10 percent faster, going from 63 mph to 69 mph.

On U.S. 95, traffic volumes decreased almost 33 percent during the last week of March on a stretch from near the 215 Beltway in Henderson — where it turns into Interstate 11 — to near Craig in the northwest valley. Speeds during the morning rush increased 16 percent, going from 60 mph to 69 mph and were 23 percent faster during the evening at 69 mph, up from 57 mph.

Traffic on the 215 Beltway dropped comparably as well, with volumes falling 30 percent by the end of the month on a stretch between Eastern Avenue near Henderson and Jones Boulevard in the northwest valley. That’s after starting the month up around 4 percent during the first week in March.

As a result, 215 morning traffic is 10 percent faster (68 versus 63 mph), while Beltway evening traffic is 24 percent faster (69 versus 57 mph).

The data shows that Clark County residents are heeding the stay-at-home directive, which is aimed at helping curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, but the increased speeds are a concern for officials.

“We will continue to see a decline in traffic volume on our valley’s roadways, as our community continues to follow the governor’s directive to stay home for Nevada,” said MJ Maynard, RTC CEO. “However, we are also seeing an uptick in vehicle speeds because of the reduced congestion, so I’d like to remind motorists to obey the rules of the road and follow posted speed limits to keep our community safe.”

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