As if you really needed a blog post to tell you, leaving Las Vegas for California this Labor Day weekend will be a mess. A standing mess.
The Nevada State Police has warned us all that Interstate 15, at Nipton Road (Near Primm) will be down to one lane. Yes, one lane due to bridge repairs.
FYI: Heading to Utah on I-15 won’t be much better. It will be a bottleneck at the Virgin River Gorge.
The Back Way Update
In May of last year, I posted a video on YouTube showing a “secret” route out of Las Vegas and avoiding the area that will be one lane this weekend. You go of Las Vegas, via Blue Diamond Highway, thru Tecopa, and around to Baker, California. Connecting back up to the I-15 there. (Read: Escaping Las Vegas, The Secret Route to L.A.)
Some people complained about the extra miles. But for many, it’s the fact that you are moving, not stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic and you get back into the traffic AFTER the construction site. Saving time and frustration. I guess some people just like to complain!!
The great thing is that this route is easily accessible from almost anywhere in the Las Vegas Valley. You don’t need to get on I-15 to get on Blue Diamond Highway.
Take Sahara Avenue west. In Summerlin, it becomes Desert Foothill Drive and then connects to Charleston Blvd/SR 159. You are heading to Red Rock National Conservation Area (Red Rock Canyon).
That road connects to Blue Diamond Highway just past the town of Blue Diamond. Watch out for wild burro along the route. From downtown on Charleston Blvd, follow it the same way. Past Red Rock Canyon to Blue Diamond.
Another route out of downtown that is more scenic and mostly highway: Hwy 95 West to 215 South to Charleston Blvd. You get the picture.
Want to avoid it all? Leave on Tuesday!!
