Tired of Henderson traffic? Pedestrian bridge, widened 215 on the way

Work on a $120 million widening project along a busy stretch of the 215 Beltway in Henderson will get underway next year.

Early next year, crews will begin work on widening the 215 between Pecos Road/St. Rose Parkway to Stephanie Street, according to the city. Aside from widening the beltway portion that sees heavy congestion during morning and evening rush hours, a pedestrian bridge over Green Valley Parkway, just off the freeway, also will be added.

Renderings recently released by the city of Henderson are giving residents a first look at what the proposed pedestrian bridge will look like.

Artist renderings show the bridge is planned to be constructed on the south side of Village Walk Drive, with stairs and ramps leading up to both sides to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists.

The bridge will link Village Park Drive, which connects two sides of the District at Green Valley Ranch shopping center, divided by Green Valley Parkway. The bridge also will serve those who might be traveling between nearby Lee’s Family Forum arena and the district or Green Valley Ranch hotel.

Pedestrians crossing the intersection often back up travel on Green Valley Parkway in both directions, sometimes leading to traffic backups blocking the intersection at Paseo Verde Parkway. Having pedestrians cross overhead will help eliminate some of the traffic backup in the area.

The 215 Trail also runs along the area, and the bridge will allow cyclists to cross and continue on the trail, similar to the pedestrian bridge constructed over St. Rose Parkway just west of Green Valley Parkway.

Aside from the bridge, the 215 will be widened by two lanes in each direction, making the stretch between five and six lanes in each direction, depending on the area.

Improvements will be made to on- and off-ramps along the stretch, adding more turn lanes at Pecos, Green Valley Parkway, Valle Verde Drive and Stephanie Street.

A diverging diamond interchange will be added at Green Valley Parkway over the beltway. Such an interchange allows vehicles to turn left onto freeway on-ramps without stopping or impacting through traffic. The interchange will see traffic cross over to the left side of the road, with traffic signals in place to help guide traffic at each crossover.

It will be the second diverging diamond interchange in Henderson, with one located on Horizon Ridge Parkway, over Interstate 11, that opened to traffic in 2015.

The project is aimed at addressing congestion at multiple points within the project’s scope and to ready traffic for volumes projected to be seen in the city in about 25 years.

Plans call for the project to be completed in the first quarter of 2027, according to the city.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X. Send questions and comments to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com.