The Henderson City Council in Nevada has approved the first phase of improvements to the I-11/I-215 interchange earlier this month, reviving a long-stalled project through a scaled-back, phased strategy after the original overhaul was scrapped due to ballooning costs.
The interchange sits at the convergence of I-11, the I-215 Beltway and Lake Mead Parkway in Henderson, Nevada. It was originally constructed between 2004 and 2006 and currently handles roughly 190,000 vehicles per day. That figure is expected to climb, with a projection of about 289,000 vehicles per day by 2040, according to a 2020 study from the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT).
Clark County’s population has grown from about 1.5 million when the interchange was built to more than 2.2 million today, according to NDOT, straining the corridor’s capacity and contributing to higher crash rates and travel delays.
NDOT had previously planned a large-scale reconstruction of the interchange as recently as 2024. The original scope included demolishing five of the interchange’s 27 bridges and building 11 more, bringing the total to 33 bridges. NDOT canceled the procurement process, however, after bids came in far above expectations. The department has now shifted to a design-bid-build delivery model and adopted a phased construction approach.
Phase I of the new approach focuses on near-term improvements to ease congestion near Lake Mead Parkway and the northbound I-11 flyover to I-215, according to city officials. NDOT is fully funding the Phase I design with a budget of $5 million, which the Henderson City Council approved on March 17.
The rest of the approved work includes widening the I-215 westbound from the I-11/I-215 interchange to Stephanie Street, restriping the I-11 northbound to I-215 westbound ramp and restriping the Lake Mead Parkway westbound to I-215 westbound entrance ramp.
Phase I is planned to run concurrently with a separate, $160 million project already underway. That project is meant to widen I-215 between Pecos Road, St. Rose Parkway and Stephanie Street. It kicked off in 2025 and is expected to wrap up in 2028. The project will also add two lanes in each direction and upgrade freeway ramps along the corridor. Officials say coordinating the two efforts is intended to avoid excess disruptions for drivers and operate both efforts under the same timeline.
The I-11/I-215 interchange project is a collaboration between the City of Henderson, NDOT and Clark County. Given the larger timeline of the secondary project already underway, construction could begin in late 2027 or early 2028, though the city has not specified how many phases the overhaul will include.
Photo by Kelly from Pexels
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