Work on the 215 Beltway widening project in Henderson is forging ahead, with the reconfiguration of the Green Valley Parkway interchange along the stretch scheduled to get underway soon.

The $160 million project will widen the freeway by two lanes in each direction between Pecos Road and Stephanie Street. When complete, the 215 will go from three lanes and an auxiliary lane to five lanes and an auxiliary lane in each direction along the stretch that often experiences heavy congestion during the morning and evening rush hours.

Additionally, on-ramps and off-ramps between Pecos and Stephanie will be enhanced by adding more turn lanes at Pecos, Green Valley Parkway, Valle Verde Drive and Stephanie.

One of those upgrades includes adding a second right turn lane at the 215 eastbound off-ramp to St. Rose Parkway southbound. Crews are working on the underground storm drain at the off-ramp, with the revamp expected to be completed in a few months, according to Steven Conner, city engineer for the city of Henderson.

Crews have also been adding new retaining walls along the project’s scope — a process that will continue for the foreseeable future, according to Conner.

“The entire length of the project for the most part gets these retaining walls,” Conner said. “So, it’s a really long process, and we’ll be in that process for quite some time.”

The 215 Trail that runs along the eastbound lanes is closed in multiple areas as crews add retaining walls and perform drainage work. The trail impacts are expected to last for another six months, Conner said.

One of the more noticeable components of the project will be converting the standard Green Valley Parkway interchange at the 215 into a diverging diamond interchange. Initial work on that portion is underway as NV Energy relocates power infrastructure north of Village Walk Drive, Conner said.

“We’ll start on building the diverging diamond at Green Valley Parkway toward the middle to late summer,” Conner said. “There will be some restrictions, that we have been working with the major stakeholders around that area, such as Lee’s Family Forum, the District (at Green Valley Ranch), Green Valley Ranch, and all the buildings on the north side of the freeway there. … We’ve been talking to all those stakeholders to let them know what those alternate routes are when special events happen (so) we can make sure we coordinate our project with those.”

Motorists traveling to the area for an event at Lee’s Family Forum or with plans to visit the District or Green Valley Ranch can skip Green Valley Parkway once the work is underway by exiting the 215 at Valle Verde or St. Rose Parkway and taking Paseo Verde Parkway to the area.

The nonstandard diverging diamond intersection includes weaving traffic lanes, allowing vehicles to turn left onto freeway on-ramps without stopping or affecting traffic. Henderson is already home to a diverging diamond interchange on Horizon Drive over Interstate 11.

The construction of the diverging diamond interchange will begin with the outer portions before moving toward the middle of the road. Conner expects the Green Valley Parkway work to last for about one year.

Nighttime lane restrictions will be in place as the NV Energy work continues on southbound Green Valley Parkway between Corporate Circle and Village Walk Drive, with traffic reduced to one lane as needed. Pedestrians will be detoured to the north side of Green Valley Parkway during work hours.

The project will also construct a pedestrian bridge over Green Valley Parkway at Village Walk Drive, connecting the two sides of the District’s outdoor shopping center. The structure will allow pedestrians and cyclists to safely cross without traffic having to stop on Green Valley Parkway.

The bridge is a prefabricated structure that will be installed onto abutments, ramps and staircases built on both sides of Green Valley Parkway.

“The bridge is actually very quick to install,” Conner said. “We set up a crane overnight and set the prefabricated bridge structure on those abutments. And then there’s a couple small closures that we have to do for the concrete bridge deck pour and a couple of other items that we do when we actually pour the bridge deck.”

An additional right lane recently opened to traffic on St. Rose northbound to the 215, creating dual right turn lanes approaching the on-ramp to the 215 eastbound, creating a much safer environment than before.

“It’s a good milestone,” Conner said. “We had a bad weaving problem, northbound St. Rose to get onto eastbound 215. We added the dedicated dual rights from northbound St. Rose to eastbound 215, and that has opened, which we have seen a lot of relieved weaving, which was a safety issue and causing congestion in the area.”

The project kicked off last June and is scheduled for completion in 2028.

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