‘This is the time’: Mayor says I-15 widening needs to happen ahead of LA Olympics

With the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games less than four years away, is the time now to widen Interstate 15 from the Nevada state line to Barstow? Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman thinks so.

The longtime Las Vegas mayor, who will term out at the end of the year, has long championed widening I-15 between Southern Nevada and Southern California. Usually she points to the sometimes 20-mile long traffic backups following holiday weekends on I-15 southbound, that start near Primm and head back toward Las Vegas.

This time Goodman points to potential Olympic Games attendees that will travel from surrounding states on I-15 through Nevada and into Southern California.

“They want people from Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada that prefer vehicular travel to air and also so much more needs to be done on their side (California) between state line and Barstow,” Goodman told the Review-Journal last month. “Once you hit Barstow you’ve certainly much greater and safer access. But this is the time.”

Goodman said she plans to reach out to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to discuss the possibility of widening I-15 ahead of the Olympics.

Bass’ office did not respond to the Road Warrior’s request for comment regarding the potential to push for widening I-15 in Southern California.

“This is the time that we can get their attention, because they are preparing four years out (from the Olympics),” Goodman said. “It’s not going to take four years (to widen I-15).”

Hazmat crash

Olympics aside, the July 26 crash involving a truck carrying large lithium ion batteries, which caused a fire and shut down I-15 northbound for 43 hours near Barstow, is also cause for concern to Goodman. That not only jammed up the main artery between Southern California and Nevada for tourists and travelers, but it also impacted the movement of freight goods.

“To get goods and produce from California moving into the belly of the country,” Goodman said. “For years now, I’ve been advocating and begging Caltrans, California and everybody there to widen Barstow to state line. Obviously it benefits us for the tourists’ travel back and forth. But most significantly that the 113 miles between Barstow and state line is two lanes in each direction with no shoulder. It was an accident waiting to happen.”

All things considered between tourist travel, the Olympics, the movement of goods and the hazmat crash, Goodman said the safety of road users on I-15 should be the top priority looked at when considering potential widening.

“When there is an accident, everybody is stuck there for an hour, 10 hours, overnight, they had no place to go, there were no crossovers into the median, there was no shoulder to pull out upon,” Goodman said.

Brightline West

High-speed rail project Brightline West is aiming to have service up and running ahead of the 2028 Olympics. Brightline held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $12 billion project in April at the site of the future Las Vegas station.

The Nevada Department of Transportation and Brightline West have been working with the Federal Railroad Administration to finalize a pair of grant recipient agreements related to the $3 billion in federal funds awarded to the project, as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. NDOT Director Tracy Larkin Thomason said once that process is complete construction on the rail line would get underway later this year.

Aside from the federal grants the project was also approved for a total of $3.5 billion in private activity bonding authority by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Brightline will use a combination of debt and private capital to pay for the rest of the project’s total cost.

Goodman is behind the Brightline project, but she is skeptical the project will secure the required funding in time to start and complete the line before the summer of 2028.

“It’s great and it’s wonderful and we all can’t wait to jump on the speed train, but it’s not going to be done to get people into her city,” Goodman said, referring to the Los Angeles mayor. “Easily, what needs to happen now is another reason to widen the I-15 by doing so. They have not attended to it, except a 5-mile strip to add a shoulder.”

Stars are all aligned

Goodman believes planning for widening the 113 miles of I-15 should start now, in order to have that span of highway completed for the 2028 Olympic Games.

“We have four years to do it,” Goodman said, adding, “I think the stars are all aligned here … to push and get this done.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X. Send questions and comments to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com.