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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Closing the highway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas forced about 500 vehicles to pass the time at a casino resort area in Nevada.
The Nevada Highway Patrol said the closure of Interstate 15 lasted about 45 minutes longer than expected, with the popular route shut down in the southbound lanes near the California border from 1 a.m. until 4:45 a.m. Wednesday. It took another 30 minutes to clear it completely.
There were no incidents, accidents or injuries reported.
The road was closed for a California sign installation project. The signs are part of a $40 million project to build a new California Highway Patrol commercial vehicle inspection facility near Yates Well Road.
Most of the 500 vehicles that took the planned exit to the Nevada resort town of Primm were semitrucks, and most of the vehicles were not from Nevada, authorities said.
Those who took the detour were directed to the Primm Valley Resorts complex, which had extra staff on hand at the casinos, hotels, eateries, gas stations and other amenities that were open to accommodate the stranded travelers.
There were vehicles that turned around toward Las Vegas, and others that went the direction of Searchlight, Nevada, for a detour. Trooper Loy Hixson of the Nevada Highway Patrol said that path would have added up to two hours and more than 100 miles for a trip to California.
During those hours, that stretch of road typically sees about 300 vehicles per hour.
The event was slotted at that time period because it is usually the least congested for the route, which also runs through Salt Lake City.
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