State Route 445 (SR 445) is a
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
in
Washoe County,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
. The route follows ''Pyramid Way'', a major thoroughfare in the city of
Sparks, and connects 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 ...
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
to
Pyramid Lake. The route is designated a
Nevada Scenic Byway
The U.S. state of Nevada maintains a system of scenic byways throughout the state. Currently, there are 20 designated state scenic byways. Some of these state scenic byways have also been incorporated into national byway designations.
State sce ...
.
Route description
SR 445 begins at the intersection of Nugget Avenue and Pyramid Way in Sparks. From there, it passes under
Interstate 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 ...
directly to the north and skirts the eastern edge of Victorian Square in downtown Sparks as it continues heading almost due north. After about , the road curves slightly to the northeast to serve as the primary link to the rapidly expanding northern valleys of Sparks, including
Spanish Springs.
Once outside of urban Sparks, SR 445 transitions to Pyramid Lake Road, more commonly referred to as Pyramid Highway. The rural highway is four lanes for a seven-mile stretch passing through Spanish Springs. The road narrows to two lanes entering the more sparsely populated Palamino Valley north to Pyramid Lake. As the road turns more sharply northeast, it enters the
Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation
The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Reservation is a United States reservation in northwestern Nevada, approximately northeast of Reno, in Washoe, Storey, and Lyon counties.
It is governed by the federally recognized Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, wh ...
. Shortly thereafter, the road curves northwest as it intersects
State Route 446, following the western shore of Pyramid Lake. The highway passes through
Sutcliffe and then comes to an end at Warrior Point Park Road, north of the town.
History
The first two miles (3 km) of State Route 445 in Sparks was originally designated State Route 32, with the remainder of the route comprising most of former State Route 33. SR 445 was crafted from these routes in the Nevada highway renumbering that took place in the late 1970s.
of the route (the entirety of the route within the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation) became a
Nevada Scenic Byway
The U.S. state of Nevada maintains a system of scenic byways throughout the state. Currently, there are 20 designated state scenic byways. Some of these state scenic byways have also been incorporated into national byway designations.
State sce ...
on June 27, 1996. The same stretch was designated a
National Scenic Byway
A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...
on July 15 of that same year.
[
]
Future
The Pyramid Highway/U.S. 395 Connector (also known as the Northeast Connector) is a project taken by NDOT and RTC to improve mobility throughout the northern communities. The projects focuses on rerouting Pyramid Highway as a four to six-lane limited arterial roadway and freeway connecting U.S. 395 with an indirect connection to Sun Valley Boulevard, traveling along the mountainous region dividing Sun Valley with Sparks before merging with the original route. There is no set completion date, as it has not entered final design.
Major intersections
See also
*
*
References
{{commons category, Nevada State Route 445
445
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Year 445 ( CDXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valentinianus and Nomus (or, less frequently, year 1198 ' ...
Transportation in Washoe County, Nevada
445
__NOTOC__
Year 445 ( CDXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valentinianus and Nomus (or, less frequently, year 1198 ' ...