After flooding near Las Vegas closed Interstate 15, crews were able to re-open the flood-ravaged interstate in just four days. Here’s the story:
On Sept. 8, 2014, remnants of Tropical Storm Norbert dumped nearly six inches of rain in the Moapa/Glendale area north of Las Vegas—more than the area typically receives in an entire year.
A two-mile stretch of Interstate 15, traveled by more than 25,000 vehicles daily, was destroyed by the unyielding rainfall. Officials say 12,000 cubic feet of water per second flowed directly onto the interstate.
Crews closed I-15 from mileposts 64-112 and detour routes were put into place. Meanwhile, contractor Las Vegas Paving, already in the area working on an NDOT project, immediately began working around to clock to clear debris and rebuild the crumbled roadway.
On Sept. 12, 2014, just four days after the flood event, NDOT was able to open one lane of traffic in each direction through the Moapa and Glendale area using the northbound interstate.
Through the following week, work was shifted to repairing and opening the southbound lanes. Just ten days after the flood event, NDOT reopened one southbound lane in addition to the two northbound lanes.
–NVDOT on YouTube
Tags: Flood, Flooding, NDOT, Nevada, Nevada Department of Transportation, NV, Video, YouTube