North Las Vegas Airport Expansion Could Permanently Close Half a Mile of Carey Avenue

by Ryan Rose

What Happened

The North Las Vegas Airport, known by its code VGT, has been working on an updated master plan. A master plan is a big-picture guide. It tells the airport what it will need over the next couple of decades, from runways to hangars to roads. Clark County hired the planning firm Coffman Associates to update VGT's plan, working with the FAA and the Clark County Department of Aviation.

According to the Final Master Plan Report, as reported by KTNV, the airport's runways would need to get longer and wider over the next 20 years. To make room, roughly half a mile of Carey Avenue between Simmons Street and Allen Lane could be closed for good. An airport spokesperson told KTNV that VGT needs a runway extension to meet FAA standards. The spokesperson also said that rerouting Carey Avenue was necessary under every option the planners looked at.

That last point matters. It means the planners did not find a version of the runway project that leaves Carey Avenue alone. If the runway gets longer, the road has to move.

The traffic numbers are the part most drivers will care about. Carey Avenue carries more than 13,000 vehicles every day right now. The traffic study in the plan expects that number to grow about 23 percent by 2050. If the closure happens, the study estimates that:

About 59 percent of the traffic now on that part of Carey would move to Lake Mead Boulevard.
About 15 percent would move to Cheyenne Avenue.
The rest would spread out across other nearby roads.

The plan also includes a new road that would connect Carey Avenue to Lake Mead Boulevard, so drivers are not left at a dead end. The traffic study says some drivers could notice delays at peak times. But it also says that, overall, daily travel times and distances across the region are not expected to go up by 2050.

There is one more piece. Part of the land the airport would need belongs to the City of North Las Vegas. The city would have to approve selling that land to the Clark County Department of Aviation. The city told KTNV the project is still in an exploratory phase, the traffic study still needs FAA review and approval, and it is too soon to say what the process for closing, or "vacating," Carey Avenue would look like.

A road closed sign on the side of a street, the kind of sign North Las Vegas drivers could someday see on Carey Avenue between Simmons Street and Allen Lane

Why It Matters to Las Vegas Residents

Thirteen thousand cars a day is a lot of people. That is commuters heading to work, parents dropping kids at school, delivery drivers and folks running to the store. Carey Avenue is one of the east-west roads that helps people cross the central part of North Las Vegas. Take half a mile out of the middle, and those trips have to go somewhere else.

Most of that "somewhere else" is Lake Mead Boulevard. And people who already drive Lake Mead are not thrilled. North Las Vegas resident Jennifer Chavira told KTNV she uses Carey Avenue for work errands. She worries about more traffic on Lake Mead, which she says is already busy. She said Rancho Drive and Simmons Street are crowded too. That is a fair worry. Even if the regional numbers work out on paper, the drive from your own driveway can still feel very different at 7:30 in the morning.

Here is who should pay the most attention:

People who live near Carey, Lake Mead or Cheyenne. Your street could get busier or quieter depending on which side of the change you are on.
Daily commuters. If Carey is part of your route to work, your route could change down the road.
Families with kids in nearby schools. School pickup and drop-off routes could shift if traffic moves onto other roads.
Small businesses along these roads. Fewer cars on one road and more on another can change how many customers drive past.
Homeowners and renters near the airport. A longer, wider runway could change how the airport is used over time.

There is also good news buried in the plan. The new road linking Carey to Lake Mead is meant to keep traffic moving, and the study does not expect overall regional travel times to rise. The airport itself is a real part of the local economy. It handles business flights, charters and flight training, and a stronger airport can bring jobs and activity to North Las Vegas. The key for residents is making sure the road plan works on the ground, not just in a report.

It also helps to think about the growth number. The traffic study expects Carey Avenue traffic to climb about 23 percent by 2050. That means the question is not only where today's 13,000 cars go. It is where a bigger number of cars goes years from now, as North Las Vegas keeps adding homes, jobs and shopping. A road plan that looks fine for today's traffic has to hold up for tomorrow's traffic too. That is exactly the kind of question residents can ask during the review process.

And because the work could be close to ten years out, nobody needs to panic today. What residents do have right now is time. Time to learn the plan, ask questions and speak up before decisions get locked in.

Background and History

The North Las Vegas Airport has been around longer than most of the valley. It opened on Dec. 7, 1941, the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor, under the name Sky Haven Airport. Hughes Tool Company bought it in 1968. Today it is owned by Clark County and run by the Clark County Department of Aviation, the same department that runs Harry Reid International Airport. It sits about three miles northwest of downtown Las Vegas on roughly 920 acres.

VGT is one of Nevada's two FAA-designated National Reliever Airports. That means it takes some of the load off Harry Reid by handling general aviation, corporate jets, charter flights and flight training. The airport's master plan website calls VGT the second-busiest public-use government airport in Nevada. Federal statistics listed about 176,000 takeoffs and landings there in 2022, with nearly 500 aircraft based on the field.

Front of the North Las Vegas Airport terminal on a sunny day, with American and Nevada flags flying outside the gray stucco building

The airport has three runways. Two of them run side by side, and one crosses them. Each one is 75 feet wide. The two longest are about 5,000 feet long, and the third is about 4,200 feet. When early planning options were reported in 2024, AIN, an aviation news outlet, described ideas to stretch the main parallel runway to more than 6,000 feet and widen it to 100 feet [NOT VERIFIED]. Officials have tied the push for longer runways to larger business jets. Bigger jets need more room to take off and land safely.

Safety has been part of the conversation too. On July 17, 2022, two small planes collided over the airport, and all four people aboard were killed. FOX5 reported in February 2025 that the National Transportation Safety Board's final report pointed to a pilot lining up for the wrong runway, mistakes by air traffic controllers and controller staffing shortages. FOX5 also reported that a future version of the plan could replace the main runway with a longer, wider one that has more space between the runways.

The master plan work began in May 2023. The airport held public workshops on June 28, 2023; Sept. 13, 2023; March 28, 2024; and Dec. 12, 2024. A draft of the report has been posted online at the project website, vgt.airportstudy.net. The Carey Avenue piece is what turned a technical airport study into a neighborhood story this month.

What Happens Next

Several things have to happen before anyone puts up a "road closed" sign on Carey Avenue. First, the FAA has to review the plan. The FAA formally approves the Airport Layout Plan, which is the official drawing of what the airport will look like. The City of North Las Vegas told KTNV the traffic study and the road changes also need FAA review and approval.

Second, the city has to decide whether to sell its part of the land to the Clark County Department of Aviation. That would likely come up at a public meeting, where residents can speak. The city has said it is still too early to know what the process for vacating Carey Avenue would be. Third, FOX5 reported in 2025 that the next steps for the master plan also include an environmental study with its own public comment period. That is another chance for residents to weigh in.

Finally, there is the money and the construction schedule. Clark County has said the work could be close to a decade away. Big projects like this also need design work and funding before any digging starts. So the realistic timeline is years, not months. A lot can change in that time. Traffic patterns shift, new homes get built, and plans get updated as they move through review. That is normal for airport projects, which tend to move slowly and in stages.

It is also worth remembering what the airport is not planning. FOX5's 2025 reporting focused on runways, safety and room for growth in private and business flying, and the airport's role remains that of a reliever for Harry Reid. KTNV's report describes VGT as an alternative to Harry Reid for general aviation, corporate, charter and flight training. And AIN reported in 2024 that adding scheduled airline service was not part of the plan [NOT VERIFIED]. So, based on what has been reported, this is about helping the same kind of airport meet federal standards, not about adding passenger airline flights. What to watch for: an FAA decision on the plan, any item on a North Las Vegas City Council agenda about land near the airport or Carey Avenue, and the launch of the environmental review and its comment period.

Small private airplanes parked on a sunny airfield with mountains in the background, similar to the general aviation planes that use North Las Vegas Airport

Ryan's Take

When I help people buy a home, I always tell them to look past the house and study the roads around it. A street that is quiet today can be a cut-through route in five years, and a busy road can calm down when traffic shifts. This Carey Avenue plan is a perfect example. If it goes forward, some streets near Lake Mead and Cheyenne could get busier, while the closed stretch of Carey would go quiet. Neither of those things shows up in a listing photo. You have to know the plans.

I also want to be clear about what we do not know. Nobody can say yet how this will affect home values near the airport, and I am not going to guess. What I can say is that long-range plans like this one are public, and smart buyers and sellers read them. If you are thinking about buying near the North Las Vegas Airport, ask about flight paths, check the master plan and drive Lake Mead Boulevard at rush hour. If you already own a home nearby, keep an eye on this one and make your voice heard. You have time, and that is a real advantage.

What You Can Do

Start by reading the source. The North Las Vegas Airport master plan website, vgt.airportstudy.net, has information on the plan, its schedule and how to get involved. Look at the maps so you can see exactly where the runway changes and the new road connecting Carey to Lake Mead would go. Then read the KTNV story linked below for the latest details.

Next, follow the local decision makers. Watch North Las Vegas City Council agendas for any item about selling city land near the airport or vacating Carey Avenue. Watch for news about the FAA review and the environmental study, since that study is expected to include a public comment period. If you have thoughts, share them during those comment windows or at a council meeting. Public input carries the most weight before a final vote, not after.

Finally, think about your own routine. If you drive Carey every day, try Lake Mead or Cheyenne a few times and see how it feels. If you are shopping for a home in North Las Vegas, add "check the airport plan" to your list right next to "check the schools." And if you want help sorting out what a plan like this could mean for a specific street or home, I am happy to walk through it with you.