I-15-US-95 Interchange (Spaghetti Bowl)
JW Zunino provided services to the Nevada Department of Transportation for the beautification, drainage, and irrigation modification of the most visible highway interchange in the State of Nevada. The design of the Las Vegas Valley Spaghetti Bowl pays tribute to the beauty of the desert through the use of native plants, including the extensive use of Joshua Trees and native rock. Large red sandstone boulders frame a snaking desert arroyo, while smaller rocks form ground-plane tortoise silhouette sculptures.
The endangered desert tortoise is further celebrated by five over-sized concrete sculptures – standing 7 feet tall, and weighing in at 2 tons each. As Las Vegas Valley residents and visitors drive along through this US-95 / I-15 interchange, they are able to observe the design from a variety of angles, each offering different perspectives, including the brightly painted modern pictographs mounted along the varied free-standing walls and climbing support columns. The 62-acre Spaghetti Bowl project creates a focal point not only for the City of Las Vegas, but for the entire Las Vegas Valley. This project was named 2005 Project of the Year by the Nevada Chapter of the American Public Works Association.