Freeway closures will slow trips to Las Vegas

If you’re driving to Las Vegas this weekend, plan on taking your patience: As part of a major repaving project in Devore, contractors plan to close the northbound Interstate 215 connector to Interstate 15 from 9 tonight until 4 a.m. Monday, according to a spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation.

“This is going to be a tough weekend,” said Terri Kasinga, warning of traffic delays of up to three hours while vehicles are diverted around the quarter-mile freeway closure.

The following weekend, contractors will close the southbound I-215 in Devore from 10 p.m. Jan. 26 to 6 p.m. Jan. 27, Kasinga said.

As many as 5,000 vehicles an hour pass through the Devore interchange from 3 to 9 p.m. on Fridays, as Southern California drivers head for the Colorado River region, the high desert, Arizona and Nevada, Caltrans officials said.

The route home, on Sundays after 3 p.m., is even more crowded, carrying 7,000 vehicles an hour.

Caltrans officials suggest Southland motorists take the 14 Freeway to Palmdale, then State Route 58 to Barstow, and pick up I-15 there.

The $26-million project is on schedule for a March completion, Kasinga said.

As a reward for those extra hours dodging freeway construction, motorists will be able to enjoy the resurfaced freeway and pass slower vehicles, because part of the project is a three-mile northbound lane for trucks climbing to the Cajon Pass.

Caltrans District Director Michael Perovich said he thanked affected motorists “for their patience during this tough project.”

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