U.S. Route 95 in Nevada
U.S. Route 95 is a major U.S. highway traversing the U.S. state of Nevada from north to south directly through Las Vegas and providing connections to both Carson City and Reno. US 95 is cosigned with Interstate 80 for between Winnemucca and a junction 32 miles north of Fallon before heading north into Oregon at McDermitt. At, it is the longest highway in Nevada.
Along much of its course through Nevada, US 95 has signs designating it as the Veterans Memorial Highway. A portion of the route in Las Vegas northwest of downtown is also called the Oran K. Gragson Freeway, named for Las Vegas mayor Oran K. Gragson who advocated for construction of that portion of freeway in the 1960s.
Route description
U.S. Route 95 enters Nevada in Palm Gardens and heads north towards Railroad Pass, where it meets Interstate 11 and US 93.The three routes are then co-signed in the Las Vegas Valley and east of Henderson, I-11 is co-signed with US 93/95 for its entire route around the eastern Las Vegas Valley.
I-11 continues through a Spaghetti junction known as the Henderson Spaghetti Bowl or Hender-Bender interchange of Interstate 215 and SR 564.
The freeway then heads west into Downtown Las Vegas, where it intersects Interstate 15. At the Spaghetti Bowl interchange, US 93 follows I-15 northbound.
From I-15 to Elkhorn Road, I-11 and US 95 have HOV lanes that are currently enforced by both LVMPD and NSP.
I-11 and US 95 head west, then north at an interchange with Summerlin Parkway over Rainbow Boulevard. Eventually, the freeway passes through the Centennial Bowl with the Las Vegas Beltway in the northwest at Centennial Hills where I-11 currently ends at Kyle Canyon Road and Sunstone Parkway.
The freeway portion then currently ends at Corn Creek Road, northwest of the Las Vegas Valley and then it becomes a brief four-lane divided highway.
US 95 exits Clark County and heads into eastern Nye County for 107 miles. The four-lane divided highway currently ends past the Mercury interchange.
It then enters Esmeralda and continues for 44 miles before meeting US 6 in Tonopah, back in Nye County. US 6/95 leave Tonopah, after two miles, enters Esmeralda County again and heads west for until Coaldale, where US 6 splits west towards California and its western terminus at US 395 in Bishop, California.
US 95 then heads northwest towards Hawthorne and Schurz, where US 95 Alternate splits west towards US 50, providing an alternate route towards Carson City and Reno.
US 95 itself goes north towards Fallon, where it intersects US 50. US 95 meets Interstate 80 and US 95 Alternate about halfway between Lovelock and Fernley. The two routes then run concurrently for until reaching Winnemucca, where US 95 splits from I-80 and follows Interstate 80 Business into downtown Winnemucca.
In downtown Winnemucca, US 95 turns north in the general direction of Paradise Valley, leaving Interstate 80 Business to follow SR 289 east. North of Winnemucca, US 95 meets the eastern terminus of SR 140, which connects to Lakeview and Klamath Falls, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. US 95 finally exits Nevada at McDermitt and heads into Oregon.
History
Extension into Nevada
When the original plan for the U.S. highway system was adopted by the American Association of State Highway Officials in 1926, US 95 was one of the routes created. At that time, however, the route only existed in Idaho from the Canada–United States border near Eastport to Weiser near the Oregon state line.A proposal to extend US 95 south to Winnemucca was considered by AASHO in 1937; however, action was deferred due to incomplete sections in Oregon. AASHO reconsidered the idea at its meeting on June 28, 1939, as part of a larger plan to extend the highway south to Blythe, California. This plan was adopted, officially establishing US 95 throughout Nevada effective January 1, 1940. The route was marked along several preexisting state highways as follows:
- From the Oregon state line at McDermitt, US 95 followed State Route 8 for to Winnemucca.
- At Winnemucca, the route joined U.S. Route 40, traveling southwest via Lovelock to Fernley.
- In Fernley, US 95 followed State Route 2 for to Fallon.
- The highway turned south at Fallon, running concurrently with the southern segment of State Route 1A to Schurz.
- At Schurz, US 95 was routed along State Route 3, zigzagging south and east through Hawthorne, Luning, Coaldale, Tonopah and Goldfield.
- South of Goldfield, the highway overlapped the entire of State Route 5, traveling southeast through Beatty and Indian Springs to Las Vegas, joining U.S. Route 93/U.S. Route 466 through Henderson to Boulder City, then splitting from US 93/466 heading south through Searchlight towards the California state line en route to Needles.
Fallon to Winnemucca realignment
When U.S. Route 95 was designated through Nevada, it avoided using a shorter alignment between Winnemucca and Fallon. The northern segment of State Route 1A had been previously established running north from Fallon to connect with US 40 southwest of Lovelock. At the time, however, this portion of SR 1A was mostly an unimproved road. State Route 1A had been completely paved by 1959, and the US 95 designation was moved over it by 1960. This new alignment eliminated the need to drive west to Fernley and then double back eastward, shortening the highway's length by about.When US 95 was realigned, the former route via Fernley was redesignated as alternate route. This would be the second highway to bear this designation, as another U.S. Route 95 Alternate had been created between Schurz and Fernley years earlier. The two separate alternate routes would continue to meet in Fernley until circa 1978, when U.S. Route 50 Alternate replaced the section of US 95 Alternate heading east towards Fallon.
Improvements in the Las Vegas metro area
When US 95 was extended through the Las Vegas Valley around 1940, it used the existing roadways traversed by State Route 5. Crossing the valley from the southeast, the U.S. highway traveled along Boulder Highway through Henderson and the town of Whitney. Reaching the city limits of Las Vegas, the road changed names to Fremont Street as it headed into downtown. The route followed Las Vegas Boulevard northward briefly before going west on Bonanza Road. US 95 finally turned northwest on Rancho Drive, which became the Tonopah Highway as it traveled northwest out of the Vegas valley. Over the years, this routing of US 95 along city streets would slowly be replaced with newer, high-speed facilities.Las Vegas Expressway
Elected in 1959, Las Vegas mayor Oran K. Gragson began advocating for regional street and planning initiatives in the growing Las Vegas Valley. In the early 1960s, Gragson had become instrumentally involved in planning what was then referred to as the "West Fremont Expressway". By 1968, the expressway was beginning to take shape, beginning Downtown at Las Vegas Boulevard, interchanging with Interstate 15 and spurring west toward Rancho Drive.The Las Vegas Expressway was slowly constructed over the next decade, reaching west to Rainbow Boulevard by 1978. A northward extension, linking the expressway to the Tonopah Highway in Centennial Hills, was completed around 1980. By 1982, US 95 was rerouted from Rancho Drive to the completed expressway alignment. Also in 1982, as the result of a petition drive, the new US 95 expressway was renamed to the "Oran K. Gragson Expressway" in honor of the four-term mayor. The Nevada Department of Transportation now recognizes this portion of US 95 as the Oran K. Gragson Freeway.
File:2015-11-04 11 05 42 View south along U.S. Route 95 at Exit 77 in Las Vegas, Nevada.jpg|thumb|right|View south along U.S. Route 95 approaching I-15, I-515 and US 93 in Las Vegas in 2015. I-515 was replaced by I-11 in 2024.
Henderson spur
The first part of the freeway to be opened that was not part of its 1968 route was the section between its then-eastern terminus and Charleston Boulevard, in 1984. It was extended south to Boulder Highway by 1986. US 95 was moved from Las Vegas Boulevard, Fremont Street, and Boulder Highway onto the new freeway at that time. As additional sections of freeway were completed, both US 95 and the concurrently-routed US 93 were rerouted onto the new freeway. The former alignment on Fremont Street and Boulder Highway became SR 582. Over time, parts of it have been decommissioned by the state and turned over to local entities for maintenance.In May 2006, the interchange was completed to replace the former diamond junction at Lake Mead Parkway/SR 564 and I-215. The interchange at Galleria Drive was opened on November 4, 2009, resulting in the renumbering of the existing junction at Sunset Road.
On August 16, 2017, Interstate 11 was opened to the public as the Boulder City Bypass. US 95 between Paradise Hills Drive and Cascata Drive was rerouted onto the newly built freeway. Some portions of the old highway near Railroad Pass Hotel and Casino were repurposed as parking aisles for said hotel. The portion of former US 95 between present-day US 93 Business and I-11 was redesignated SR 173, while retaining the name "Veterans Memorial Highway".
Earthquake
On May 15, 2020, the Monte Cristo Range earthquake damaged the highway in both directions from US 6 in Coaldale to SR 360 in Mineral County.Future
US 95 is part of a proposed northwestward extension of Interstate 11 from Las Vegas. The interstate highway would primarily follow the US 95 corridor through central and northwestern Nevada, extending to I-80 and US 95 Alt. in Fernley near Reno and Sparks via Tonopah. In 2018, the Nevada Department of Transportation had initiated public outreach regarding its long-range planning efforts to narrow down options for the future I-11 corridor.On June 20, 2022, NDOT decided that I-11 would follow the I-515/US 93/US 95 corridor through Las Vegas and then run concurrent with US 95 to the interchange with SR 157.