The Nevada Department of Transportation has announced the first section of Interstate 11 will open next week.
The southbound section will open on Tuesday, running more than 2 miles (3 kilometers) between Railroad Pass hotel and U.S. Highway 95.
Opening up the small segment marks a step toward completing the first leg of an international trade route that is expected to ease cross-border trade from the Mexico border to Canada by running through Arizona, Nevada and Idaho.
Department spokesman Tony Illia says drivers heading south on U.S. Highway 93 will be directed onto southbound I-11's concrete lanes near the casino in Henderson. Vehicles then will get to use a new 600-foot-long (183-meter-long) flyover bridge that connects I-11 with the overlapping U.S. highways 93 and 95.