Thousands of Memorial Day motorists driving back to Southern California from Las Vegas were stuck in a major gridlock on Monday afternoon as a notoriously accident-heavy stretch of highway came to a standstill on one of the busiest travel days of the year.
Cars attempting to cross the nearly 18-mile section of Interstate 15 between Primm, Nevada, to Mountain Pass, California, were forced to spend about an hour and 20 minutes in the hot desert sun. The desolate stretch of road across the Mojave Desert has few turnoffs, and the area endured highs of around 90 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday.
On the other side of the highway, drivers headed from California into Las Vegas were able to navigate the same portion of freeway in just 15 minutes. The holiday weekend was one of the busiest Memorial Day travel periods on record, according to the American Automobile Association…