A 50-mile stretch of I-15 near Las Vegas was closed Monday when heavy rain sent floodwater roaring through the area and washed asphalt loose from the busy freeway. No serious injuries were reported.
The Nevada Department of Transportation estimated damage to a one-mile stretch of I-15 at $2 million,
according to the Las Vegas Sun. The newspaper said the closing affects a 50-mile stretch between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.
Photos posted on Twitter showed entire sections of I-15 washed out, after rain removed the ground beneath it, leaving motorists no alternative to get to their destinations.
"I've never seen anything like this," said Mohamed Rouas, an engineer with the Nevada Department of Transportation. He told the newspaper that engineers will reopen traffic to the northbound lanes first and then work on the southbound lanes. He said that while crews hope to have northbound lane repairs completed by the weekend, work on the southbound lanes may take up to three to four weeks to complete.
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The Spectrum reported that hundreds of travelers were stranded overnight Monday because of the damaged highway near St. George, Utah. A portion of I-15 south was reopened Tuesday and used Old Highway 91 as a detour.
The heavy rains that hit the area was left over from Hurricane Norbert, which hit the Baja Peninsula over the weekend and moved on to drought-starved Southwest.
The newspaper said that there were two storm-related deaths in Arizona while electricity was lost to roughly 15,000 people in Nevada's Overton Power District, near Mesquite.
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