U.S. Route 95 (US 95) is a major U.S. highway traversing the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

from north to south directly through

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and providing connections to both

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 ...

(via

US 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

) and

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 c ...

(via

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 ...

). US 95 is cosigned with Interstate 80 for between a junction in

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

and Winnemucca before heading north into

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

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 Oran Kenneth Gragson (February 14, 1911 – October 7, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1959 to 1975. Gragson, a member of the Republican Party, was a small business ow ...

Freeway, named for the Las Vegas mayor who advocated for construction of that portion of freeway in the 1960s.

Route description

U.S. Route 95 enters Nevada near Cal-Nev-Ari in Clark County and heads north towards Railroad Pass, where it meets

Interstate 11 Interstate 11 (I-11) is an Interstate Highway that currently runs for on a predominantly northwest–southeast alignment in the US state of Nevada, running concurrently with US Route 93 (US 93) between the Arizona state line ...

and

US 93 U.S. Route 93 (US 93) is a major north–south numbered highway in the western United States. The southern terminus is at US 60 in Wickenburg, Arizona. The northern terminus is at the Canadian border north of Eureka in Lincoln Coun ...

. The three routes are then co-signed in the

Las Vegas Valley The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the Southern Nevada, southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Stat ...

and east of

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * H ...

, I-11 and I-515 are co-signed with US 93/95 for its entire route around the eastern Las Vegas Valley. I-11 ends at the Henderson Spaghetti Bowl (also known as the Hender-Bender) interchange of Interstate 215 and SR 564 and

Interstate 515 Interstate 515 (I-515) is a spur route of Interstate 15 in Nevada, I-15 in the US state of Nevada that runs from the junction of Interstate 11, I-11, Las Vegas Beltway, I-215, and Nevada State Route 564, State Route 564 (SR 564) ...

begins. The freeway then heads west into

Downtown Las Vegas Downtown Las Vegas (commonly abbreviated as DTLV) is the central business district and historic center of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the original townsite, and the Downtown gaming area was the primary gambling district of Las Vegas prior to the St ...

, where it intersects

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border i ...

. At the Spaghetti Bowl interchange, US 93 follows I-15 northbound and I-515 ends. From I-15 to Durango Drive, the freeway has

HOV lanes A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, 2+ lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and one or more passengers, i ...

that are currently enforced by both

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

and

NHP Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and is the only state within the nation to do so. US 95 heads west, then north at the Rainbow Curve at

Summerlin Parkway State Route 613 (SR 613), better known as Summerlin Parkway, is a freeway in the western portion of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, connecting Clark County Route 215 (CC 215) to U.S. Route 95 (US 95) and serving the master planned community of Summ ...

(SR 613). Eventually, the freeway passes through the

Centennial Bowl The Centennial Bowl is the colloquial name for an under-construction freeway interchange in Las Vegas, in the U.S. state of Nevada, in the Centennial Hills neighborhood. It currently serves U.S. Route 95 (US 95) and Clark County Rou ...

with the

Las Vegas Beltway The Las Vegas Beltway (officially named the Bruce Woodbury Beltway) is a beltway route circling three-quarters of the Las Vegas Valley in southern Nevada. The Las Vegas Beltway carries two numerical designations. Approximately of the highway, f ...

(CC 215) in the northwest at Centennial Hills. The freeway portion then ends at Corn Creek Road northwest of the Las Vegas Valley and then it becomes a brief four-lane

divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

. US 95 exits Clark County and heads into eastern

Nye County Nye County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,591. Its county seat is Tonopah. At , Nye is Nevada's largest county by area and the third-largest county in the contiguous United States, behi ...

for 107 miles. The four-lane divided highway ends past the

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

interchange. It then enters Esmeralda and continues for 44 miles before meeting

US 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to ...

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 California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and its western terminus at

US 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...

Bishop, California Bishop (formerly Bishop Creek) is a city in California, United States. It is the largest populated place and only incorporated city in Inyo County. Bishop is located near the northern end of the Owens Valley, at an elevation of . The city was na ...

. US 95 then heads northwest towards

Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...

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 (

U.S. Route 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...

) and

Klamath Falls Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city was ...

and the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. US 95 finally exits Nevada at McDermitt and heads into Oregon.

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

street maps and

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

topographic map In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but historic ...

s, accessed December 2007 vi
ACME Mapper
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History

Extension into Nevada

When the original plan for the

U.S. highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

system was adopted by the

American Association of State Highway Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United St ...

(AASHO) in 1926, US 95 was one of the routes created. At that time, however, the route only existed in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

from the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

near Eastport to Weiser near the

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 Blythe is a city in eastern Riverside County, California, United States. It is in the Palo Verde Valley of the Lower Colorado River Valley region, an agricultural area and part of the Colorado Desert along the Colorado River, approximatel ...

. This plan was adopted, officially establishing US 95 throughout Nevada effective January 1, 1940. The route was marked along several preexisting

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 ...

s 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 ( State Route 1), traveling southwest via Lovelock to Fernley. *In Fernley, US 95 followed State Route 2 for to Fallon (with a short overlap on

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

west of 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

, Luning, Coaldale, Tonopah and Goldfield (including an overlap with

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...

between Coaldale and Tonopah). *South of Goldfield, the highway overlapped the entire of State Route 5, traveling southeast through Beatty and Indian Springs to

, joining

U.S. Route 93 U.S. Route 93 (US 93) is a major north–south United States highway, numbered highway in the western United States. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 60 in Arizona, US 60 in Wickenburg, Arizona. The northern terminus is at the ...

U.S. Route 466 U.S. Route 466 (US 466) was an east–west United States highway. Though it reached a length of around 500 miles (805 km), the route was co-signed with other US routes for much of its length. When California deleted most of its U.S. High ...

through

Boulder City Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon. Boulder City is one of on ...

, then splitting from US 93/466 heading south through

Searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direc ...

towards the

state line en route to Needles. The Nevada portion of US 95 covered a distance of approximately . The entire route was on paved roads, except for a small portion of SR 5 between the California state line and Searchlight.

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 An official alternate route is a special route in the United States that provides an alternate alignment for a highway. They are loop roads and found in many road systems in the United States including the U.S. Highway system and various state an ...

. 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 (original US 95) 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 (now SR 582) through Henderson and the town of

Whitney Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...

. Reaching the city limits of Las Vegas, the road changed names to

Fremont Street Fremont Street is a street in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada that is the second most famous street in the Las Vegas Valley – and Nevada – besides the Las Vegas Strip. Named in honor of explorer and politician John C. Frémont and located in the ...

as it headed into downtown. The route followed

Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas Boulevard is a major road in Clark County, Nevada, United States, best known for the Las Vegas Strip portion of the road and its casinos. Formerly carrying U.S. Route 91 (US 91), which had been the main highway between Los Angel ...

northward briefly before going west on Bonanza Road (now SR 579). US 95 finally turned northwest on Rancho Drive (now SR 599), which became the Tonopah Highway as it traveled northwest out of the Vegas valley. ("Clark County 1952 004" ZIP file contains map image.) Over the years, this routing of US 95 along city streets would slowly be replaced with newer, high-speed facilities. Beatty (Nevada), Main Street

Las Vegas Expressway

Elected in 1959, Las Vegas mayor

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 at Las Vegas Boulevard downtown, interchanging with

and spurring west towards Rancho Drive. US 95 N between Beatty and Scotty's Junction (2)

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 northwest of downtown was completed around 1980. By 1982, US 95 was moved 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 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 within ...

now recognizes this portion of US 95 as the "Oran K. Gragson Freeway".

Henderson spur

The first section of the future I-515 freeway in Las Vegas opened from the east end of the 1968-era Las Vegas Expressway at Las Vegas Boulevard to Charleston Boulevard in 1984. It was extended south to Boulder Highway (at current exit 70) 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 moved to the new facility. The I-515 designation was added in 1990, but not widely signed until the completion of the entire freeway to just north of Railroad Pass in 1994. The former alignment on Fremont Street and Boulder Highway is now SR 582, though some portions of that route are now being decommissioned by the state and turned over to local entities for maintenance. In May 2006, the (freeway-to-freeway) interchange was completed to replace the former diamond junction at Lake Mead Parkway/ SR 564 (formerly known as Lake Mead Drive) and the

I-215 Interstate 215 is the designation for several Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to Interstate 15 (I-15): * Interstate 215 (California), a regional Interstate bypass for I-15 and a connection to I-10 that serves the ...

/Bruce Woodbury Beltway. The interchange at Galleria Drive (exit 64B) was opened on November 4, 2009, resulting in the renumbering of the existing junction at Sunset Road (from exit 64 to exit 64A). In May 2020, an 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

(I-11) from Las Vegas. The interstate highway would primarily follow the US 95 corridor through central and northwestern Nevada, extending to

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

and

Sparks Sparks may refer to: Places *Sparks, Georgia * Sparks, Kansas *Sparks, Kentucky *Sparks, Maryland * Sparks, Nebraska *Sparks, Nevada *Sparks, Oklahoma *Sparks, Texas * Sparks, Bell County, Texas * Sparks, West Virginia Books * ''Sparks'' (Raffi ...

via Tonopah. In 2018, the

had initiated public outreach regarding its long-range planning efforts to narrow down options for the future I-11 corridor. Future I-11 corridor signs were installed in both directions from CC 215 to Kyle Canyon Road in 2019. In July 2022, it was 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.

Major intersections

Note:

Milepost A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

s in Nevada reset at county lines. The start and end mileposts for each county are given in the county column.

Special routes

* U.S. Route 95 Alternate, an alternate route beginning in Schurz serving Yerington, Silver Springs and Fernley * U.S. Route 95 Business, a business route in Las Vegas * U.S. Route 95 Truck, a truck bypass of Hawthorne

References

* {{Portal bar, United States, U.S. Roads 95 Nevada Transportation in Clark County, Nevada Transportation in the Las Vegas Valley Transportation in Nye County, Nevada Transportation in Esmeralda County, Nevada Transportation in Mineral County, Nevada Transportation in Lyon County, Nevada Transportation in Churchill County, Nevada Transportation in Pershing County, Nevada Transportation in Humboldt County, Nevada