Closer look at two major changes proposed at Las Vegas’ Reid International Airport

By Greg Haas

(KLAS) — Harry Reid International Airport’s plan to add 26 gates will mean the closure of the circular clusters at the end of long concourses.

In their place, a “pier-design” concept will maximize airport efficiency, according to a presentation scheduled for county commissioners’ review next week.

Passenger traffic at the airport just keeps increasing. Last year, a record 57.6 million passengers used the airport — a 9.4 percent increase over 2022. Its traffic is ranked among the top 10 in the country.

A report released on Thursday showed 4.8 million arriving and departing passengers used Reid Airport in August, a 5.1 percent increase over August 2023.

New flyover ramps

It’s not just airplanes that will be getting attention in the new proposal. Making traffic patterns more efficient is also part of the goal, and a plan to add a pair of flyover ramps could make traffic move much smoother along Paradise Road and University Center Drive.

Airport officials are trying hard to move traffic in a one-way circular motion.

Currently, vehicles traveling from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1 have to navigate to a stoplight that controls traffic leaving Terminal 1. Drivers end up in “the guts” of an interchange that requires quick decisions. It can be a confusing route, and impatient drivers leaving the airport don’t help the situation.

Their destination: a ramp from northbound Wayne Newton Boulevard back to Terminal 1.

Another before-and-after comparison shows a plan to add two flyover ramps to the roads leaving Terminal 3. One will go directly to the Terminal 1 return ramp, and the other will place drivers directly onto the Airport Connector on the way to the tunnel exiting Reid Airport to the south.

As more and more people make use of the Airport Connector on their daily commute rather than driving all the way around the airport, the ramps could make a big difference in getting people where they want to go.