Governor Brian Sandoval announced Wednesday that the Nevada Department of Transportation will get an extra $11.1 million in highway funding for its phase of the Boulder City Bypass.

The money is coming from the Federal Highway Administration, which means the funds will replace state money slated for the project. The bypass is part of the proposed Interstate-11 Corridor.

The funding came from the FHWA’s annual redistribution of money other states did not use in their transportation projects.

According to Sandoval, the money will allow NDOT to hire more people to push the project along. 

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- The Nevada transportation board wants the proposed Interstate 11 to extend from Las Vegas to Interstate 80 using the general route of U.S. 95.

Board members voted Monday to pursue an expanded definition of the future freeway. Congress voted in 2012 to designate a stretch from Las Vegas to Phoenix as the future Interstate 11.

Chairman and Gov. Brian Sandoval said it was "irrefutable" that Nevada needs the project, and said he wasn't shy about asking for federal money to make it a reality.

Board member Tom Skancke said the freeway is even more important now that Nevada has landed a Tesla battery plant. He said companies make investment decisions based on infrastructure quality.

Transportation officials haven't solidified routes and said it could be decades before the interstate is built

The National Park Service wants to know what people think about an environmental assessment for a proposed relocation of utility and water lines for the Boulder City Bypass project.

The bypass was approved in 2005, but the environmental impact statement did not address the need to move existing power lines and install a pipeline to provide water for construction.

The proposed project would move about a mile of transmission lines and install a temporary above-ground water pipe from Lake Mead to provide water for crews.

To comment on the proposed changes and to read more on what it would mean for the Lake Mead area, go to parkplanning.nps.gov/. To send a written message, write to Lake Mead NRA, Compliance Office, 601 Nevada Way, Boulder City, NV 89005.

Comments must be received by Sept. 19.