Southern Nevada's HOV lanes, who controls them, and what Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony says about removing them
Public records and published statements, checked 2026-10-17. Every statement below is cited.
The HOV lanes
NDOT describes more than 20 miles of continuous HOV (carpool) lanes in Las Vegas: on U.S. 95 from the Elk Horn direct-connector ramps to the Spaghetti Bowl, where a direct-connect ramp joins I-15, and on I-15 from the Spaghetti Bowl to Silverado Ranch Boulevard. NDOT also lists SR-613 (Summerlin Parkway) in the system.[1]
The restrictions apply 6:00–8:00 a.m. and 4:00–6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. NDOT set those hours in 2023, as directed by the Nevada Transportation Board of Directors. During them the lanes are for vehicles with two or more occupants and for motorcycles.[1]
Before 2023 the restrictions ran much longer: FOX5 reports they applied around the clock from 2019 and 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily from 2022.[2][3]
Who decides their future
The lanes are part of NDOT's highway system. NDOT changes their hours as directed by the Nevada Transportation Board of Directors, the board Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony sits on.[1][4][5]
When the board cut the hours in 2023, it also required NDOT to begin a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) study, which the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requires, to potentially eliminate all HOV restrictions in Nevada.[1]
NDOT expects the NEPA study to be completed in 2027. NDOT says it, FHWA and the Board of Directors will analyze the results and use them to enact any future changes.[1][6]
NDOT's Fall 2024 HOV Lane Survey, part of that study, found that 53.8% of respondents use the lanes during operating hours, 36% want them removed or converted to general-use lanes, and 25.6% want longer hours or more interchanges.[6]
As checked on this page's date, NDOT's HOV pages still list the 2023 hours and the 2027 study timeline.[1][6]
What Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony says
November 2022, as lieutenant governor-elect: he said he would use his seat on the Nevada Transportation Board to revisit “decreasing or eliminating HOV lanes,” and called the lanes an experiment that “is not working.”[4]
2023: after the board voted to limit the restrictions to weekday peak hours, Anthony, a board member, called the vote the right move and said of the lanes: “It's not being used the way it's supposed to be used.”[5]
August 2025: he said he had personally contacted federal transportation officials and had asked the Trump administration for help removing HOV lanes statewide, saying “the state of Nevada does not want HOV lanes.” FOX5 reported he hoped for a federal answer within six to eight months and then planned to take the matter back to the NDOT board.[2]
Sources
- Nevada Department of Transportation, “High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes” (checked 2026-10-17) — https://www.dot.nv.gov/safety/roadway-safety-improvements/high-occupancy-vehicle-hov-lanes-express-lanes
- FOX5 Las Vegas, “Nevada Lt. Governor appeals to Trump administration to help end HOV lanes” (2025-08-08) — https://www.fox5vegas.com/2025/08/08/nevada-lt-governor-appeals-trump-administration-help-end-hov-lanes/
- FOX5 Las Vegas, “Future of HOV lanes in Southern Nevada to be discussed at NDOT meeting” (2023-04-10) — https://www.fox5vegas.com/2023/04/10/future-hov-lanes-southern-nevada-be-discussed-ndot-meeting/
- FOX5 Las Vegas, “Cone Zone: Lieutenant governor-elect discusses future of Las Vegas HOV lanes” (2022-11-17) — https://www.fox5vegas.com/2022/11/17/cone-zone-lieutenant-governor-elect-discusses-future-las-vegas-hov-lanes
- KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas, “NDOT board votes to drastically change HOV lane rules in Las Vegas” (2023) — https://www.ktnv.com/news/ndot-board-votes-to-drastically-change-hov-lane-rules-in-las-vegas
- Nevada Department of Transportation, “HOV Southern Nevada Study” (checked 2026-10-17) — https://www.dot.nv.gov/projects-programs/programs-studies/hov-southern-nevada-study