LETTER: Interstate 11 planning leaves much to be desired
As more Interstate 11 signs appear throughout the valley, an incontrovertible fact about the planning for this freeway becomes apparent.
Current plans call for I-11 to follow the course of U.S. Highway 95 through the heart of the city. Anyone who drives U.S. 95 on a regular basis is aware that this stretch of freeway is inadequate for the traffic now using it. When I-11 becomes a true border-to border thoroughfare, a bad situation will become intolerable. Barring the demolition of neighborhoods and businesses, future expansion of the road will be impossible.
The only solution is to go back to the drawing board and select a new route. The most obvious would lie along the far eastern edge of the valley. Ample undeveloped land is there, and the addition of the freeway would be a boon to the vastly under-served population of the east side. Ample time exists to develop this route, as Arizona appears indifferent to expanding U.S. 93 to interstate standards, even though U.S. 93 in Arizona was recently named “the most dangerous stretch of road in America.”
The Nevada Department of Transportation should do everything to avoid this coming nightmare.