Las Vegas was jolted Friday morning by a magnitude 4.8 earthquake, which resulted in Spaghetti Bowl interchanges getting closed for several hours.
It was only in the afternoon when the Nevada Department of Transportation declared roads safe for travel and reopened the closed interchanges. Due to the closures, traffic was unusually heavy and, according to reports, “backed up for miles” following the quake. “The joint damage was pre-existing,” said NDOT engineer Mary Martini. “The temblor simply dislodged the protective rubber encasing the bridge seam making it look much worse than it was in reality” and prompting an immediate shutdown of the ramps.” She added that the ramps are still structurally sound despite the loose rubber casing.
The earthquake struck at 11:47 a.m. local time Friday, and was centered approximately 23 miles south-southwest of Caliente. Earlier reports had stated the intensity was 5.4, but the figure was lowered twice later in the day. There have been no reports of flight disruptions at Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport, while establishments such as Circus Circus and the Las Vegas Monorail were not affected by the quake.
Reports suggest that the quake was felt as far away as San Diego and Salt Lake City, while USGS data shows that there were four notable aftershocks felt between 12:05 p.m. and 12:58 p.m., with magnitudes between 2.5 and 3.8.