Q. Hi Honk. Any word on the widening of the southbound I-15 near the Nevada border? Searching online only shows the original announcement on Dec. 5, when we were told to expect construction to begin this spring with completion anticipated by the end of this summer.

– David Tompkins, Los Angeles

A. Yes, David, Honk was able to get an update – and motorists should soon get a bit of a break indeed when driving back home from Las Vegas.

Right now, I-15 near the border shrinks from three lanes to two before going back to three – helping to create an irritating bottleneck.

To compensate, Caltrans will make an estimated $12 million in improvements so for five miles the shoulder can sometimes be used as a lane – probably Sundays and Mondays when traffic is at its peak.

For now.

It is seen as a temporary fix.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who helped make that Dec. 5 announcement, said other fixes were being considered.

“The Caltrans contract has recently gone out to bid, and the goal is to open the first phase of the project, the expanded transition section (the extra lane), by late summer,” Emily Leinen, a Caltrans spokeswoman, told Honk in an email.

“We will have more clarity on the project timeline once the contractor is onboard,” she added.

Improvements are apparently coming on the Nevada side as well.

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Q. Is this a digital license plate?

— Marty Haynes, Placentia

A. No.

Marty emailed Sherlock Honk a photo of a handsome black SUV tooling around Ladera Ranch with a California license plate that appears to have white lettering, maybe silver, on a black background.

The Department of Motor Vehicles does not offer such a color scheme, but Reviver, a company based northeast of Sacramento, does have a white-and-black plate you can get with the Department of Motor Vehicles’ blessing.

And Reviver does indeed sell digital license plates, with a matte appearance and powered by battery or the vehicle’s electrical system.

But in the photo you provided, Marty, the plate has the blue-on-white month sticker and a green registration sticker.

One of the benefits of the Reviver plates is you tickle the keys on your smartphone to pay the registration fee and the new registration “sticker” appears on the plate in black or white, depending on your preference.

Honk asked Trevor DeWitt, a Reviver spokesman, to look at your photo. He agreed it wasn’t a plate his company made.

“We are working on R&D for a color display plate, but (that’s) still in progress,” he said.

Reviver plates are available to the public during the state’s test period.

That SUV owner very likely painted the plate or hired someone to do it. Messing with a plate like that can certainly earn a citation.

HONKIN’ FACT: If you need to brave a Department of Motor Vehicles office this summer, you may want to take advantage of 64 of them opening at 7 a.m., an hour early, every weekday except Wednesday (when offices open at 9 a.m.). This will be in effect through September. The early bird offices include: East Riverside, El Monte, Glendale, Hemet, Norco, Pasadena, Pomona, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Clemente, San Pedro, Temecula, Torrance, Van Nuys, West Covina and Whittier.

To ask Honk questions, reach him at [email protected]. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk