Blue Diamond Road Improvement
Las Vegas, NV

After completion of I-215 (Southern Beltway) in the southwest quadrant of the Las Vegas Valley, the area has seen a major increase in development extending south of the beltway beyond the existing Blue Diamond Road (SR-160).  The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Clark County are designing and building improvements to the road in four main phases.

Phase 1 consists of rebuilding the existing interchange at I-15 on the east end of Blue Diamond Road and widening the roadway from I-15 west to Valley View Boulevard.  In addition to the main interchange bridge and ramps, the new interchange required several relocations of existing businesses.  In order to minimize right-of-way impacts, retaining walls were used along Blue Diamond Road at the Silverton Casino.  R₂H designed and detailed the wall which also functions as a major drainage channel.  Cast-in-place concrete with aesthetic treatment was applied to the 1100-ft long wall. 

Phase 2A will consist of widening the existing Blue Diamond Road from 4 lanes to 8 lanes between Valley View Boulevard and Decatur Boulevard, a distance of 1.1 miles.  Work in this phase also includes new drainage channels along Blue Diamond Road and within the UPRR right-of-way.  Working as a sub-consultant, R₂H prepared structural designs and drawings for the box culverts, rectangular channels, and trapezoidal channels in this phase. 

Phase 2B will finish the road widening between Decatur Boulevard and Rainbow Boulevard – a distance of 2.1 miles.  In this phase, an overpass will be built over the UPRR mainline.  R₂H’s responsibility on this phase is the design and detailing of approximately 9,500 feet of MSE wall reaching 45 feet in height.  The extensive retaining walls are necessary to avoid the need for additional right-of-way as the new roadway raises up and over the railroad tracks. 

Phase 3 will demolish and rebuild an overpass on Warm Springs Road over I-15.  R₂H has no part to play in this phase.