The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) is hosting a series of public meetings in July to discuss alternative routes within the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area for the new Interstate 11 corridor that runs from Vegas to Reno, Nevada. An NDOT spokesperson confirmed that it is currently presenting a draft PEL (Planning and Environmental Linkages) report on the two potential routes for the I-11 corridor in Clark County with one of the alternatives focusing on the area of US95 between Kyle Canyon and Mercury but that the study is still in the Request for Proposal stage.

According to NDOT, all future transportation improvements across the state, including I-11 construction, will be prioritized through a data-driven process with goals to enhance safety, preserve transportation infrastructure, optimize mobility, transform economies, foster sustainability, and connect communities.

According to NDOT Public Information Officer Meg Ragonese, economic development was one of nine criteria used to publicly evaluate potential corridor routes along with analyzing community acceptance; cost; land use; environmental sustainability; highway capacity and travel times/ speeds; as well as alignment with transportation plans/ polices, land ownership/ management, and interrelationship with other modes of transportation.

NDOT then further refined the evaluation to recommend the U.S. 95 route to Fallon to be carried forward for future environmental review and planning. Ragonese suggests that additional public outreach and thorough review of potential benefits, environmental constraints and more will be conducted prior to design of any specific interstate alternative.

“Ultimately, a future I-11 connection following the general U.S. 95 alignment provides critical connections to major freight and economic activity centers within Nevada, as well as nationally and internationally. It will provide a high-capacity, limited-access, transportation corridor connecting Mexican ports and manufacturing areas with Nevada’s largest regional, national, and international manufacturing, and economic activity centers to support regional, national, and international trade.

“Future I-11 will also bring enhanced mobility and traffic safety, freight and other opportunities to the entire state while helping to promote economic development,” Ragonese provided in a statement.

In 2018, NDOT completed an I-11 Northern Nevada Alternatives Analysis for the stretch between the edge of northwestern Vegas and I-80. After the series of public meetings, the recommended corridor alternatives advanced into following NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) studies.

In March of 2018, NDOT held a public meeting in Hawthorne to discuss the I-11 project’s impact in Northern Nevada, and 67 people showed up. Of the alternative corridors that were presented, Hawthorne residents were most concerned about the B1 route being adopted that would basically be built from Tonopah to Salt Wells. The B1 alternative route would run northeast of Luning, Hawthorne, Walker Lake, and Schurz, in the desert and thus totally bypassing those towns. Landowners in the Fallon area were concerned about the impact to undeveloped area but believes that there would be some economic benefit to having the route close by. Hawthorne residents were in turn concerned about the potential negative economic impact the B1 corridor could have in losing visitation due to its huge diversion away from Mineral County.

“The negative sentiment from the Hawthorne community was particularly intense,” was the comment posted in the I-11 Northern Nevada Alternatives Analysis Phase 1 Outreach Summary draft memorandum, released in May 2018.

However, the memo also notes that most of the feedback received on B2 and B3 routes connecting with Luning and/or Hawthorne were positive.

“Positive sentiments included proximity to Fallon, Fernley, the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center and Hawthorne, use of existing roadway corridors and general viability. However, negative feedback focused on preferences for other alternative corridors or the potential to impact military land expansion,” it states.

Currently, though, the I-11 project is focused on Southern Nevada and Mineral County has nothing to worry about.

“In short, we are likely still a long way off from having any developments regarding I-11 in Mineral County,” NDOT Public Information Officer Justin Hopkins said.

For more information about the I-11 project, visit https://i11nv.com/landing/.