Back home, one road project means one set of cones and one finish date. Leaving Harry Reid International Airport right now means two separate projects with the same road in the name, and they do not end on the same day.
One is a night job that wraps up on Friday, November 20. The other is a tunnel job that runs through the end of December, in both directions, all day long.
Mix them up and you will plan for the wrong hours. Here is how to tell them apart, starting at Harry Reid International Airport, 5757 Wayne Newton Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119.
The Night Work That Ends November 20
The Nevada Department of Transportation said on November 6 that its Sunset Road paving work continues nightly from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., Sunday nights through Friday mornings, through Friday, November 20.
On the southbound Airport Connector, expect intermittent double left lane closures. Intermittent double right lane closures will also show up for permanent striping and cleanup.
Three ramps can shrink or close in that window:
- The on-ramp to eastbound I-215, with detours in place when it closes.
- The off-ramp to Warm Springs Road.
- The off-ramp to Hidden Well Road and westbound I-215.
No work takes place on the nights of November 10 and November 11 for Veterans Day. Daytime southbound trips are not part of this schedule.
The Tunnel Work Is a Separate Job
The airport itself is running a different project inside the Airport Connector tunnels. The Clark County Department of Aviation began repaving both tunnel directions on August 10.
Throughout that project, both the northbound and southbound tunnels are reduced to two lanes daily from 5 a.m. to midnight. Overnight, both directions drop to one lane from midnight to 5 a.m., Sunday through Friday.
The airport says that work is anticipated to be completed by the end of December 2026. It also says plainly that this project is separate from the NDOT Sunset Road project, so the November 20 end date does not end the tunnel lane cuts.
How to Drive It Without Guessing
First, check the clock before you check the map. Landing late and heading south to Henderson or the west valley puts you in the NDOT window, while a daytime drive to the airport still runs through the two lane tunnel.
Second, check live conditions before you leave. NDOT works with Waze on planned restrictions, and current state highway conditions are at nvroads.com or by calling 511.
Third, build in extra time and follow posted detours when a ramp closes. NDOT notes schedules can change because of weather or other factors, and the airport urges travelers to plan ahead through its tunnel work.
One more trap from the same NDOT release: the southbound I-11 and U.S. 95 off-ramp to Jones Boulevard closes around the clock from 3 a.m. Monday, November 16 to 5 a.m. Friday, November 20, with Rainbow Boulevard and Decatur Boulevard as the detour exits.
Know which project you are in, and Vegas traffic gets a lot less mysterious.
