Continuing the Rat Pack theme near the Las Vegas Resort Corridor, another member of the legendary group has a Las Vegas road named after them.
The new Joey Bishop Drive opened to traffic Friday morning. It runs north and south west of Interstate 15, splitting off from Dean Martin Drive, passing under the Tropicana Avenue Bridge and then reconnecting with Dean Martin Drive. The new road is part of the $385 million I-15/Tropicana interchange project.
“Named after Rat Pack member Joey Bishop, this new road gives the often-overlooked entertainer his chance to shine near the iconic Las Vegas Strip,” NDOT spokeswoman Kelsey McFarland said in a statement.
Joey Bishop will allow for smoother traffic flow to and from Allegiant Stadium, eliminating the need to travel through the Tropicana intersection.
Dean Martin is being reconfigured as part of the work, which is slated for completion next month. Once the work on Dean Martin is completed, it will run in a similar fashion to the current setup, but the signalized intersection will no longer be in place at Tropicana. Crews will add a median at the Dean Martin/Tropicana intersection, making Joey Bishop the best route for those traveling to and from the stadium area.
Joey Bishop is essentially the reconfigured Dean Martin, according to McFarland.
Traffic impacts tied to work on Dean Martin and Tropicana are planned for the coming months.
— Dean Martin Drive north of Tropicana is closed.
— North and southbound Dean Martin access to Tropicana Avenue will be closed between Feb. 3 to Feb. 18. During that time Tropicana east and westbound access to Dean Martin will also be closed. Access to businesses within the work’s scope will be maintained.
— From 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly, Sunday-Thursday until April 6 Tropicana east and westbound will be reduced to one lane between Polaris Avenue and Valley View Boulevard.
The yearslong I-15/Tropicana project is scheduled for substantial completion later this year.
In March, work on mainline I-15 will wrap up on the project and the flyover ramp from I-15 southbound to Tropicana eastbound will reopen to traffic after being closed for almost three years. The I-15 northbound off-ramp to Tropicana/Frank Sinatra Drive will also reopen in March.
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
