Heavy interstate traffic expected to continue, free rides offered in Las Vegas New Year’s Eve

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) reported 12 miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic on Interstate 15 Thursday, and some of the busiest travel days of the holiday season still lie ahead Friday and the Monday after New Year’s Day.

“Traffic has been horrendous,” shared Carnita Jones stopping at Primm to fill up on gas on her nearly border-to-border road trip from Kalispell, MT to San Diego where she is a grad student. Jones told FOX5 there have been a number of slowdowns along the way, the worst near the Utah/ Nevada border.

“I drove about 15 miles and spent three hours in sleet, snow, freezing rain,” Jones recounted. While traffic isn’t fun, Jones argued it was better than cancelled flights and being stuck in the airport.

“We drove to Las Vegas to pick up my sister who came from Tulsa. She was supposed to be at our house on Christmas Eve but got cancelled out on Southwest,” shared Steve Kirkstra who drove up from Upland, California. Now, they will celebrate Christmas on New Year’s Day.

“She has never been to a Rose Parade, so she is here now and that is what we are looking forward to,” Kirkstra explained.

RTC is not sure just how busy the roads will be over the coming days with so many travel plans changing.

“We’ll just be watching at this point with weather, travel delays, things like that. We’re all kind of standing by and watching,” revealed RTC Spokesperson Sue Christiansen. Commuters can sign up for traffic alerts on the RTC website to access the most up-to-date traffic information.

The RTC is offering everyone free transit rides on all 39 routes from 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve until 9 a.m. on New Year’s Day; several additional routes will run on a 24-hour schedule or with extended hours. To help ensure safe roadways, transit riders can board any RTC bus without purchasing a pass or presenting fare.

The free rides include transit service on major streets throughout the valley, with direct access to and from the Las Vegas Strip. Transit service to both the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas is offered from the South Strip Transit Terminal (6675 S. Gilespie St.) via the Deuce and Route 109 (Maryland Parkway). Riders can plan trips through the free rideRTC app.

In addition to free service, the RTC is making transit even more accessible by running additional extended service hours on nine routes and complete 24-hour service on 14 routes. For complete detour and route details, visit here.

Copyright 2022 KVVU. All rights reserved.