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Interstate 580 (I-580) is a
auxiliary Interstate Highway Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways) are a supplemental subset of the freeways within the Interstate Highway System of the United States. Auxiliary routes are generally classified as spur routes, which con ...
in Western Nevada. It runs concurrently with US Route 395 (US 395) from an intersection with US 50 near the southern boundary of
Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...
to the Reno Spaghetti Bowl interchange with
I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
in
Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
. The freeway provides a high-speed direct route between
Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...
and Carson City to Reno and I-80. Construction on a freeway between Carson City and Reno was planned since 1956, but construction did not occur until 1964. The freeway opened in sections, with the final section opening on August 2, 2017. The I-580 designation was approved on October 27, 1978, but the freeway was not signed as such until the portion between Reno and Carson City was completed following the opening of the Galena Creek Bridge in late August 2012.


Route description

I-580 runs from an intersection with US 50 in
Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...
to an interchange with
I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
near downtown
Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
. The only portion remaining to be constructed is the interchange at the freeway's southern terminus. Within Reno, the freeway is designated as the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway. Within Carson City, the freeway is designated the Carson City Deputy Sheriff Carl Howell Memorial Freeway, in honor of a sheriff's officer who was shot to death while attempting to rescue a victim of
domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
from her house. The freeway begins at the junction of US 395 with the
Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...
leg of US 50 and follows the eastern edge of Eagle Valley, where most of the population of Carson City resides. The highway loosely follows the former alignments of Edmonds Drive and Lompa Lane along the eastern half of the city, which were relocated or truncated to make room for the freeway. After rejoining the original alignment of US 395 at the Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center, the highway crests Lakeview Hill to enter the
Washoe Valley The Washoe Valley is a geographical region in the United States covering in southern Washoe County in the state of Nevada. Located between Reno and Carson City, it is named for the Washoe people, Native Americans who lived there before the arr ...
. The portion of I-580/US 395 and US 395 Alternate (US 395 Alt) through Washoe Valley are prone to high crosswinds, and, as such, the highways are frequently closed to high-profile vehicles. During prohibited times, trucks are rerouted to State Route 428 (SR 428/Eastlake Boulevard) and US 395 Alt, which is the old route of US 395. The high-wind area ends near the
Bowers Mansion The Bowers Mansion is a mansion located between Reno and Carson City, Nevada. It was built in 1863 by Lemuel "Sandy" Bowers and his wife, Eilley Orrum Bowers, and is a prime example of the homes built in Nevada by the new millionaires of the Co ...
interchange near the northern end of the Washoe Valley. Unlike the old US 395 which ran along the valley floor of Pleasant Valley, I-580 is routed in the mountains overlooking the valley and crosses the Galena Creek Bridge, the largest cathedral arch bridge in the world. Upon the descent from these mountains, the highway cuts through the center of one of the largest
geothermal powerplant Geothermal power is electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 26 ...
s in the US,
Ormat Technologies Ormat Technologies, Inc. is an international company based in Reno, Nevada, United States. Ormat supplies alternative and renewable geothermal energy technology. The company has built over 190 power plants and installed over 3,200 MW. As of ...
's Nevada power station, just before entering Reno. At the extreme southern edge of Reno, the highway has a junction with the Mount Rose Highway ( SR 431) and Geiger Grade ( SR 341), which connect the freeway with North
Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...
and
Virginia City Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Virginia City developed as a boom ...
, respectively. Upon entering Reno, the freeway proceeds in a generally northern direction, crossing Virginia Street ( SR 430), the old routing of US 395, several times. Along the way, the freeway passes to the side of The Summit mall,
Meadowood Mall Meadowood Mall is a one-level, super-regional mall in Reno, Nevada, managed by Simon Property Group, which owns 50% of it. Meadowood Mall contains 125 retailers and restaurants and it is anchored by Macy's Women, Macy's Men/Home, JCPenney, and ...
, and
Reno–Tahoe International Airport Reno–Tahoe International Airport is a public and military airport southeast of downtown Reno, in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It is the state's second busiest commercial airport after Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. T ...
. The elevated freeway also passes over a bus garage used by RTC Washoe, the local bus agency. The I-580 designation ends at the Reno Spaghetti Bowl where the highway crosses
I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
; however, the freeway continues on only as US 395, heading toward the north valley neighborhoods of Sun Valley, Lemmon Valley, Stead, Cold Springs Valley, and Bordertown (parts of which are in the city of Reno) before eventually crossing the California state line.


History

Development of the I-580/US 395 freeway has been in planning since 1956, but significant construction did not occur until 1964. The freeway would be opened gradually over time and would initially be constructed in two main separate sections before 2012. The first segment of freeway constructed along I-580 was the
Washoe Valley The Washoe Valley is a geographical region in the United States covering in southern Washoe County in the state of Nevada. Located between Reno and Carson City, it is named for the Washoe people, Native Americans who lived there before the arr ...
segment, which was constructed between 1964 and 1970 between present-day Bowers Mansion Road/Carson–Reno Highway (exit 50, now exit 16) near Washoe City, south through Washoe Valley to just north of North Carson Street (exit 43, now exit 8) in
Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...
. The
Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
section was constructed between 1973 and 1996. In 1973, the section running between US 395 Business (US 395 Bus; exit 72) to East Second Street/Glendale Avenue (exit 67, now exit 35) in Reno opened to traffic. This section was extended south to Mill Street (exit 66, now exit 34) in 1978, Plumb Lane/Villanova Drive (exit 65, now exit 33) in 1979, South Virginia Street/Kietzke Lane (exit 63, now exit 31) in 1981, Neil Road/Meadowood Mall Way (exit 62, now exit 30) in 1986, South Virginia Street (exit 61, now exit 29) in 1989, and Mount Rose Highway (exit 56, now exit 24) in 1996. The Carson City section was constructed in the 2000s with the construction of the Carson City Bypass project. The first phase completed the freeway from North Carson Street (exit 43, now exit 8) south to East William Street (exit 39, now exit 5) in 2006. The freeway was extended south to Fairview Drive (exit 38, now exit 3) in 2009. On August 2, 2017, the final section of the freeway between Fairview Drive (exit 38, now exit 3) and South Carson Street in Carson City opened to traffic. In 2012, the section between Mount Rose Highway (exit 56, now exit 24) and Bowers Mansion Road/Carson–Reno Highway (exit 50, now exit 16) south of Reno opened following the opening of the Galena Creek Bridge to traffic in late August 2012, connecting the two main segments together. After the completion of this section, the freeway south of
I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
(US 395 southbound exit 68 and I-580 northbound exit 36) was signed as I-580, officially connecting Carson City to the
Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
. This left four other state capitals still not served by the Interstate Highway System: Dover, Delaware;
Juneau, Alaska The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...
;
Pierre, South Dakota Pierre ( ; lkt, Čhúŋkaške, lit=fort) is the capital city of South Dakota, United States, and the seat of Hughes County. The population was 14,091 at the 2020 census, making it the second-least populous US state capital after Montpelier, ...
; and
Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the princip ...
. The I-580 designation was first approved by the
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test quality control, protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction through ...
(AASHTO) on October 27, 1978; at the time, this route extended from I-80 to US 395 (South Virginia Street, at exit 63, now exit 31). AASHTO approved the remainder of planned I-580, to the southern terminus at US 50, US 395 and US 395 Bus south of Carson City, at its December 7, 1984, meeting. Despite the route number being approved and being shown on some maps in the 1980s, I-580 was not signed along the Interstate until the freeway gap between Mount Rose Highway and Bowers Mansion Road was completed in 2012. The routing for I-580 and US 395 had been considered as a potential alignment for the extension of I-11 from US 95 north of
Walker Lake Several lakes are known as Walker Lake: Canada *Lake Walker in Quebec, Canada, the largest (by depth) lake in the province. United States

*Walker Lake (Haines, Alaska) *Walker Lake (Northwest Arctic, Alaska) *Walker Lake (Prince of Wales-Outer ...
to I-80 at the Spaghetti Bowl interchange in Reno. In October 2019, the
Nevada Department of Transportation The Nevada Department of Transportation (Nevada DOT or NDOT) is a government agency in the U.S. state of Nevada. NDOT is responsible for maintaining and improving Nevada's highway system, which includes U.S. highways and Interstate highways withi ...
(NDOT) began replacing US 395 exit numbers with I-580 exit numbers per federal requirements on the ''
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices The ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways'' (usually referred to as the ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices'', abbreviated MUTCD) is a document issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of the Unit ...
''.


Future

The only project yet to be completed is the South Carson Street
single-point urban interchange A single-point urban interchange (SPUI, or ), also called a single-point interchange (SPI) or single-point diamond interchange (SPDI), is a type of highway interchange. The design was created in order to help move large volumes of traffic thr ...
(SPUI).


Exit list

Old exits on I-580 were numbered according to US 395 mileposts.


See also

* *


References


External links

{{3di, 80 80-5 Nevada 80-5 5 Nevada Transportation in Carson City, Nevada Transportation in Washoe County, Nevada