As originally proposed in the 2012 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, the highway would run only from Casa Grande, Arizona, to Las Vegas.

I-11 being extended along US 95 through Las Vegas and crossing over I-15 remedied this situation since it put a portion of I-11 west of I-15 and thus in line with the national grid numbering conventions.

[4] The 80th session of the Nevada Legislature passed a bill designating the entire route of I-11 in the state as the Purple Heart Highway, which went into effect on July 1, 2019.

ADOT also began studying the possibility of adding grade separations to US 93 near the Santa Maria River to make the road a full freeway.

At the same time, Nevada[11] and Arizona began looking at US 93's crossing of Hoover Dam, a major bottleneck for regional commerce, with hairpin turns, multiple crosswalks for pedestrians, and steep grades.

Plans for a bridge to bypass the dam became even more urgent when the road was closed to trucks after the September 11 attacks in 2001, forcing commercial traffic to detour through Bullhead City, Arizona, and Laughlin, Nevada, causing major transport delays as a result.

[14] In December 2013, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, researchers discovered naturally occurring asbestos in the route of the Boulder City bypass.

[21] On February 20, 2018, NDOT opened additional ramps connecting the new Railroad Pass Casino Road to both the Boulder City Parkway (formerly US 93 and US 95) and to I-11 (southbound exit and northbound entrance).

[31] In July 2022, NDOT decided to route I-11 along the existing alignments of I-515/US 93/US 95 to Downtown Las Vegas, then running concurrently with US 95 northwest to SR 157 rather than use I-215 or construct a new corridor as had been proposed, but abandoned due to local opposition.

[35] As of 2024[update], I-11 is entirely in Clark County, Nevada extending from the Arizona state line on the Hoover Dam Bypass through Las Vegas to SR 157 northwest of the city.

[10] The Nevada portion of the original I-11 corridor is a full freeway that meets current Interstate Highway standards from the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge on US 93 to the northwest of Las Vegas on US 95.

While the bulk of US 93 through Arizona has been widened to four lanes, some portions of the corridor are not built to Interstate Highway standards, as there are scattered at-grade intersections, substandard roadway and shoulder widths, median crossovers, and other deficiencies.

The remaining movements between US 93 and I-40 will continue to use the existing Beale Street interchange until traffic demands warrant and the second phase can be funded.

[39][40] Phase 4 of the US 93 Corridor Improvement Project will finish what was started in 1998 and connect the four sections of the divided highway to Wickenburg, allowing more traffic on these congested roads.

[48] Although seen as beneficial to some people,[49] the plan to build I-11 in Arizona as a whole is still receiving pushback and conservation groups are currently suing the FHWA over the construction of the route.

Heller stated that connecting the Phoenix area with Las Vegas and Northern Nevada would "spur long-term economic development, create jobs and bolster international trade".

[55] I-11 was previously projected to serve as an Intermountain West part of the U.S.'s long-term CANAMEX Corridor transportation plans, with potential extensions south from Casa Grande to the Sonoran border, and north from Las Vegas through northern Nevada (potentially passing through Reno or Elko) and onward through either eastern Oregon–Washington or western Idaho before terminating at the Canadian border.