The Railroad Pass Casino near Las Vegas already gets dozens of truckers staying overnight in their rigs, and it plans to add a travel center to service them.
The Henderson City Council in July amended its zoning map to allow the 10-acre travel center that will be built on casino property.
The rezoning also enables other commercial development, which city officials anticipate needing due to the development of Interstate 11, which is to replace the U.S. 95 freeway and would be located just east of it.
The freeway development provides new opportunities for Railroad Pass owner Joe DeSimone to develop the casino property as more traffic comes upon the project’s completion.
Congress approved the I-11 project last year, which is to run from Nogales, Arizona, to Reno, Nevada. It generally would follow the current routes for Interstate 10, U.S. 93, U.S. 95, and Interstate 19.
The interstate primarily is intended to connect Phoenix and Las Vegas via a freeway, but Congress extended its planned route next year.
The I-11 project is being done in phases, with the recent completion of the U.S 93 bypass at the Hoover Dam as the first phase, and bypassing U.S. 95 its second. That work already is underway.
The Railroad Pass has a 120-room hotel, and the travel center will add parking for 100 trucks, while also providing services for casino guests.
The travel center will include two restaurants, a convenience store, and hot showers for truckers. The project also will improve public access to the popular River Mountain Loop trail that winds through Henderson, Boulder City and Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
The Railroad Pass opened in 1931 and Nevada’s longest continually operated casino.
