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Busy Las Vegas highway ramp to reopen after earthquake 100 miles away

Published  May 22, 2015 4:14pm PDT
Associated Press




LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada transportation officials say a busy freeway ramp near downtown Las Vegas was reopening Friday afternoon after it appeared to suffer damage from an earthquake.

The magnitude-4.8 temblor hit around midday about 24 miles southwest of the small town of Caliente, Nevada. It could be felt about 100 miles away in Las Vegas.

The Nevada Highway Patrol reported damage to one of the state's busiest highway transition ramps. The ramp from southbound U.S. 95 to Interstate 15 was shut down for almost five hours until engineers determined it's safe.

They say the quake simply dislodged a piece of protective rubber that encases a bridge joint, and it looks much worse than it actually is


The Nevada Seismological Laboratory at the University of Nevada Reno says several aftershocks, from magnitude 1.0 to 3.8, followed the larger temblor.

The USGS website recorded hundreds of reports from people who say they felt the shaking.