Sample, souvenir Nevada license plates available

In the wake of a recent column about Nevada’s sports team-related specialty license plates, inquiries from Nevadans and others seeking to get their hands on them flooded the Road Warrior’s inbox.

It turns out fans of the Raiders and Golden Knights, or anyone who wants any of the other dozens of plates the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles offers, are in luck.

The Legislature passed a bill in 1987 establishing the possible selling of souvenir plates, and passed a similar bill in 1995 opening up the possibility of selling sample plates, according to DMV spokesman Kevin Malone.

Like all Nevada license plates, sample and souvenir plates are made at the license plate factory at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City.

For varying fees, sample license plates are available in any of the standard and specialty plate designs.

Specialty plate samples run $16, while standard “Home Means Nevada” plate samples cost $6.

The DMV maintains a stock of sample plates in Carson City. They are not in stock at the DMV offices throughout the state and cannot be purchased there. All orders must be placed via mail or fax.

Money generated by the sale of sample plates goes to the State Highway Fund for road construction and the DMV operating budget.

The typical ordering process takes about two weeks if the plate is in stock; if not, it will take eight or nine weeks for the DMV to fulfill the order.

The form to order sample Nevada license plates can be found at http://dmvnv.com/platessample.htm.

Charitable groups that sponsor a specialty plate may order souvenir versions of their own plate for fundraising purposes. All other individuals and businesses may order souvenir plates in the Home Means Nevada design only.

One souvenir plate costs $15. Two through nine plates in the same design cost $10 each. Ten or more plates in the same design cost $2.50 each. Each order is subject to a $1 technology fee.

Any combination of up to seven letters and numbers may be ordered, provided they do not offend, do not conflict with Nevada standard plate numbers and do not violate any trademark or copyright, Malone said.

The majority of fees the DMV collects from souvenir plate sales goes into the License Plate Production Account to fund the Plate Factory, while 50 cents per plate goes to the Fund for Prison Industries, Malone said.

Souvenir plates are made to order and stock is kept on hand by the DMV.

The form for souvenir plate orders can be placed here: http://dmvnv.com/pdfforms/sp17.pdf.

Centennial Bowl ramp closing

The northbound U.S. Highway 95 to westbound 215 Beltway loop ramp will close permanently Monday morning in northwest Las Vegas.

The ramp is being demolished and rebuilt as a direct flyover ramp as part of the $73 million next phase of the Centennial Bowl, which broke ground earlier this month, the Nevada Department of Transportation announced last week.

The 75-by-39-foot-wide concrete box girder structure will measure 2,635 feet or the equivalent of seven football fields and will be the state’s second-longest bridge when complete.

The two-lane flyover bridge will connect north-to-west traffic, allowing direct freeway-to-freeway connections, while still maintaining highway travel speeds for greater efficiency and safety.

An alternate north-to-west freeway access will be clearly marked 1,000 feet south of the old ramp. The detour will remain in place until construction of the new flyover bridge is complete in the fall of 2020.

State Route 160 roadwork

The second phase of a $58.6 million upgrade project of the main road between Las Vegas and Pahrump kicked into gear last month.

A 22-mile stretch of State Route 160 rehabilitated, as some areas have deteriorated from around the Nye County line to Mountains Springs in Clark County, the Nevada Department of Transportation announced last week.

Other project improvements include repaving a stretch of cement-treated road base on the eastbound travel lanes with an asphalt overlay. The upgrade will enhance both the longevity and the smoothness of the road.

During this process Route 160 will be reduced to one lane in in each direction, separated by barrier rail through the work zone, with travel speeds reduced to 55 mph. A temporary stop signal has been placed at Tecopa Road for safe highway access through late April as well. All 22 miles of roadway enhancements won’t finish until November.

Additionally, a 6-mile stretch is being widened from two to four travel lanes in the mountain pass area east of Mount Potosi.

The project features intermittent construction blasting occurring through year’s end to remove fractured bedrock. On blast days highway closures up to two hours can be expected.

The project, which began in the summer of 2018, calls for installing new signage and flattening side slopes for safer turnouts, as well as placing new cattle guards and a wildlife undercrossing near mile marker 18.

The Mountain Springs community will see new frontage roads constructed, improved intersection lighting and an emergency signal for Clark County Volunteer Fire Station 79. The project is expected to be complete in August 2020.

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