MARK WAITE / PVT A flagman stops traffic heading to Pahrump just past Mountain Springs Summit on Highway 160. Advertisement

It will be November before construction work is expected to be completed on Highway 160 west of Mountain Springs summit, the Nevada Department of Transportation reported.

Road and Highway Builders started work last September on shoulder work along approximately 22 miles of Highway 160 and a new seal coat. The construction extends from 1.03 miles south of Mountain Springs Summit to 1.23 miles north of the Clark County line. The company was awarded a $23.4 million contract.

Motorists have been driving through work construction zones with speed limits of 55 mph between concrete barriers, particularly between the foot of the pass on the west side and the summit.

The current construction is a sign of things to come in as Highway 160 continues to be improved until it's totally a four-lane, divided highway between Pahrump and Las Vegas.

On the other side of the hill, NDOT spokesman Bob McKenzie said construction work on Blue Diamond Road between I-15 and Decatur Boulevard is expected to be completed in August. Bids will be opened next month on construction between Decatur Boulevard and Rainbow Boulevard, expected to begin this fall, McKenzie said.

Design work has been completed on the section of highway from Buffalo Street to Highway 159, the Red Rock turnoff, he said.

During the past session of the Nevada legislature $16 million was appropriated for continued improvements to Highway 160. McKenzie said that money will be set aside for ultimately building a four-lane, divided highway from the Red Rock turnoff, at Highway 159, up to Mountain Springs summit, one of the last stretches of two lane road. Part of that segment includes a third passing lane in one direction of travel.

"That's something we'll move on pretty quickly because of the growth we got in Pahrump and the commuters coming into Las Vegas," McKenzie said.

Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman Kevin Honea said the NHP has been citing motorists speeding through the construction zones. He said the NHP has to pay special attention to sections of roadway any time there are slow or stopped vehicles or flaggers working in a construction zone.

The double fines in a construction zone means a speeding ticket could cost motorists $400, Honea said.

The section of Highway 160 between Pahrump and Las Vegas, known for years as "the widow maker," has seen 296 crashes reported to the NHP in 2005, of which 16 resulted in fatalities. Last year the number of fatalities increased to 19. So far this year, Honea reported there were seven fatalities on the highway.

Most of the crashes occurred on the Las Vegas side of the pass, Honea said.

"The overwhelming number of the crashes on Highway 160 are between Durango and Las Vegas Boulevard," Honea said.

The loud rumble strips will help avoid the problem of drivers becoming drowsy or getting distracted and driving off the road, which the NHP said was the cause of some of the fatalities.

When the current improvements are completed, Highway 160 will have two 16 foot driving lanes and eight feet of shoulder.