MAIN EVENT

southbound I-15 — a detour scheduled to last through December, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation.

“One thing we didn’t anticipate was so much traffic on Martin

Luther King,” said Jay Proskovec, a spokesman for Kiewit Infrastructure West Co., the contractor hired by NDOT to complete Project Neon.

“I think there’s just some confusion with the old ramp and the new ramp,” Proskovec said. “Hopefully that will clear up Tuesday as people get used to the change.”

Many online and smartphone maps have not yet caught up with the detours and closures, which may have added to the confusion, Proskovec said. NDOT suggests drivers use the Waze app to navigate the construction zone.

There were no immediate plans to post additional signs to warn commuters about the changes, but the department will evaluate signage and adjust as needed, NDOT spokesman Tony Illia said.

“We’ve shouted it from the rafters, but I’ll tell you: It’s not a mistake these motorists will make a second time,” Illia said. “Once people drive it and realize that this configuration is going to be in place for a while, they will make their appropriate tweaks to their commutes.”

Restrictions associated with the Main Event will be rougher Tuesday morning, when both directions of I-15 will be narrowed to three lanes between Sahara Avenue and Alta Drive through Nov. 20.

Conditions will tighten further around the Spaghetti Bowl on Thursday morning, when I-15 narrows to two lanes each way between Alta and D Street.

To alleviate some of the freeway congestion, NDOT will reopen the I-15 offramps to Charleston Boulevard on Tuesday morning, along with a new Martin Luther King/ Pinto Lane onramp to southbound I-15.

NDOT is rolling out the Main

Event over several phases expected to last through Friday, including a closure of the Martin Luther King onramp to southbound U.S. 95 that will extend through early 2019. The D Street onramp to southbound I-15 will close from 9 p.m. Wednesday to mid-july.

Between now and the end of the year, Illia said, motorists can also expect a handful of overnight and short-term traffic lane and freeway ramp closures.

“Logistically, it’s something we couldn’t do all at once because there is so much involved,” Illia said. “All these pieces are interconnected, and we need to maintain some access during the process.”

Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal. com or 702-383-0336. Follow @ Amarroquin_lv on Twitter.