Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon will affect traffic, Knights game

The chance for runners to stretch their legs under the lights on the Las Vegas Strip is a unique opportunity for participants in the annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon, but the road closures involved is a yearly headache to motorists.

The 11th annual marathon and half marathon will see comprehensive road closures in the heart of the resort corridor and in downtown and at Interstate 15 ramps.

Also, motorists can expect heavy traffic during Aviation Nation, which takes place from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at Nellis Air Force Base in northeast Clark County.

“We’re expecting traffic congestion at Interstate 15 Exit 54 to Speedway Boulevard as well as Las Vegas Boulevard north during Aviation Nation weekend,” NDOT spokesman Tony Illia said. “We advise taking alternate routes if possible.”

For Aviation Nation, traffic will be shifted along Las Vegas Boulevard from Sloan Lane to I-15 in North Las Vegas from 4 a.m. until 8 p.m. both days.

Traffic also will be shifted on the I-15 northbound offramp to Speedway Boulevard in North Las Vegas from 4 a.m. until 8 p.m. both days.

On Sunday, the Strip will be shut down on a rolling basis from Sunset Road on the south to Ogden Avenue in downtown for the majority of the day, with rolling closures in effect.

The marathons kick off at 4:40 p.m. Sunday, with the 10K race, which uses the same roads as the marathon and half marathon, starting at 3:50 p.m.

Major road closures tied to the marathon revolve mainly around the Las Vegas Strip and associated freeway ramps.

Las Vegas Boulevard closures

— Northbound, Tropicana Avenue to Flamingo Road: Noon-11:30 p.m.

— Southbound, Tropicana to Flamingo: 2:30-11:30 p.m.

— Northbound, Sands Avenue to Flamingo: 2:30.-11:30 p.m.

— Southbound, Sands to Flamingo: 9 a.m. Saturday-2 a.m. Sunday.

— Northbound, Spring Mountain Road to Sahara Avenue: 2:30-9 pm.

Downtown Las Vegas closures

The race route extends down Las Vegas Boulevard to downtown, where it makes a loop including Fremont Street and Carson Avenue, resulting in road closures from 2:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Also, a cluster of roads west of Las Vegas Boulevard downtown will be closed during the same time period.

I-15 freeway ramp closures

— Northbound to Flamingo from northbound I-15 offramp to Spring Mountain: 2:30-11:30 p.m.

— Southbound to Spring Mountain from southbound I-15 flyover to eastbound Spring Mountain: 2:30-10:30 p.m.

— Northbound to Spring Mountain from northbound I-15 to eastbound Spring Mountain: 2:30-10:30 p.m.

— Southbound to Sahara from southbound I-15 flyover to eastbound Sahara: 2:30-10:30 p.m.

-Southbound to Tropicana from the southbound flyover ramp to eastbound Tropicana: 3:30-8:15 p.m.

— Northbound to Tropicana from the northbound I-15 offramp to eastbound Tropicana: 3:30.-8:15 p.m.

— Northbound Neon Gateway high occupancy vehicle ramp from northbound I-15 to Western Avenue: 2-10 p.m.

— Southbound Neon Gateway HOV ramp from southbound I-15 to Western Avenue: 2-10 p.m.

Golden Knights game impact

This year’s marathon presents a new traffic issue Sunday as the Golden Knights are slated to face off with the Calgary Flames at 4 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena.

With the Knights having to work around other major events in the past, it will be just another day at the office for the team, according to Knights President Kerry Bubolz.

“Fights over at (MGM) Grand Garden, major concerts at Park Theater and a Golden Knights game,” Bubolz said. “There’s been times where there’s big events at all three of those venues, so dealing with traffic and traffic planning is something that we’re pretty used to, and so it’s not something that we’re overly concerned with.

“The vast majority of our fans coming from Summerlin or Henderson; they don’t come up Las Vegas Boulevard to enter T-Mobile Arena,” he said.

The majority of fans generally use Tropicana, which will have I-15 exit access until 3:30 p.m., and access roads like Frank Sinatra Drive, which runs behind the Strip, and from I-15, Bubolz said.

The start time of the game was moved up from 5 p.m. to 4 p.m. to better accommodate hockey fans and those associated with the marathon, but the closure of Las Vegas Boulevard will be in effect for the majority of Sunday.

To help bring fans to T-Mobile Arena well ahead of the puck dropping, the team is hosting a special screening of the documentary “Valiant,” Bubolz said.

“To make for a better experience we’re going to be launching our documentary and it’s going to be on the Knightron at T-Mobile Arena beginning at 1:30 p.m.,” he said. “We think several thousand of our members will come down early to see that, to further mitigate the ingress.”

The Regional Transportation of Southern Nevada’s park and ride option, the Golden Knights Express, will also have expanded service to accommodate those who utilize that option for the game.

With Tropicana slated to be open as the game ends, fans can exit the area utilizing Tropicana or Frank Sinatra.

To accommodate the rush of fans leaving the area once the game concludes, the Knights teamed up with the New York-New York and Park MGM to offer hockey fans food and drink specials so they can sit and wait for the crowds to thin out before making their trip home, Bubolz said.

“They’ll be offering food and beverage specials for fans and families post game,” he said. “We are not anticipating it to be that difficult to exit the building, but if people want to take a little more time and enjoy some of our corporate sponsors we’re encouraging that as well.”

Monorail open

The only way to travel around the marathon area during the road closure will be above the madness on the Las Vegas Monorail.

The monorail will prove useful for marathon participants and those looking to travel longer distances on the Strip.

The closest monorail stop to the starting line is the Sahara Station, with the Harrah’s/The Linq station being the monorail stop nearest to the finish line spectator viewing area.

The closest monorail stop for runner exit is Flamingo/Caesars Palace Station.

Visit the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon’s web page for more information on this weekend’s road closures.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.