LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — It’s been three months since the city of Henderson kicked off an ambitious project to widen the 215 Freeway between St. Rose Parkway and Stephanie Street.
The 215 Freeway in Henderson has not been widened since it was originally constructed more than 25 years ago. Although the Nevada Department of Transportation owns the road, funding for this widening project is coming from Clark County. However, the city of Henderson is leading the project to improve the freeway for all users.
“We found the volumes in this area are much higher, so we felt like the five lanes would help reduce some of the traffic congestion that we see in this area,” said Kevie Remynse, project engineer for the city of Henderson.
Congestion has been a problem along the 215 Freeway, particularly eastbound during the afternoon commute as drivers head toward St. Rose and Green Valley parkways. Once the widening project is completed, that congestion may ease or simply shift elsewhere.
Ken Smith: “What about the critics that say that all you’re doing is shifting the traffic bottleneck down to Stephanie?”
Kevie Remynse: “Again, we did some pre-project planning, and we feel like through our traffic modeling this all substantially help this area for the traffic congestion.”
The problem is that once eastbound traffic reaches Stephanie, it will be squeezed back down to three existing lanes approaching Gibson Road and Interstate 11.
“Farther south, NDOT is heading up a roadway project we kind of don’t have control of,” Remynse said.
That project is the Henderson Interchange, where NDOT planned to completely upgrade the connector ramps between Lake Mead Parkway, I-11 and the 215. But that project was postponed last year after NDOT experienced sticker shock at the cost of rebuilding the now 20-year-old interchange—forcing the agency to go back to the drawing board.
“NDOT is a team member in this project. They’ve been involved in the submittal review. They also come out on site, so they’re heavily involved,” Remynse added.
The latest on the 215 widening project in Henderson, including the upcoming closure of the Beltway bike trail at Green Valley Parkway, is available on the Henderson 215 website.
Copyright 2025 KVVU. All rights reserved.
