Interstate 515 (I-515) is a

spur route A spur route is a short road forming a branch from a longer, more important road such as a freeway, Interstate Highway, or motorway. A bypass or beltway should not be considered a true spur route as it typically reconnects with another or the ...

I-15 I15 may refer to: * Interstate 15, a north–south Interstate Highway in the United States of America * Polikarpov I-15, a Soviet fighter aircraft * I15 (band) "Soulja Girl" is the second single from American rapper Soulja Boy's studio album '' ...

in the US state of

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 ...

that runs from the junction of I-11, I-215, and State Route 564 (SR 564) at the Spaghetti Bowl Interchange in

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 * ...

to the junction of I-15, U.S. Route 93 (US 93), and US 95 at the Las Vegas Spaghetti Bowl Interchange in

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 S ...

. The freeway connects traffic headed from Boulder City and Henderson to Downtown Las Vegas via a direct, high-speed route, and it runs concurrently with both US 93 and US 95 along its entire length. The I-515 designation was first approved in 1976, but construction did not begin until 1982, and was constructed in stages until it reached its former terminus north of Railroad Pass in 1994, when signs of the designation finally were put up. I-515 was built to bypass

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 h ...

and Boulder Highway, both of which were former alignments of US 93, US 95, and US 466, and provide a direct freeway connection with Henderson.

Route description

The southern terminus of I-515 is at an interchange with I-11, I-215, US 93, US 95, and SR 564 in

, a suburb of

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 Veg ...

. The freeway continues south as I-11 towards Boulder City and the

Hoover Dam Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on S ...

on the former alignment of I-515. The six-lane freeway travels northwest from the interchange and carries the concurrent designations of I-515, US 93, and US 95 through Henderson as it passes the Sunset Station casino and

Galleria at Sunset Galleria at Sunset (informally referred to as Galleria Mall) is an indoor shopping mall at 1300 West Sunset Road in Henderson, Nevada. It is owned by Forest City Enterprises and Queensland Investment Corporation, and managed by Forest City. Plans ...

shopping mall. I-515 then turns north and intersects Tropicana Avenue (SR 593), Flamingo Road (SR 592), and the

Boulder Highway State Route 582 (SR 582) is a major highway in the Las Vegas Valley. The highway is the former route of U.S. Route 93 (US 93) and US 95 (and, historically, US 466) before they were moved to the current freeway alignment shar ...

(SR 582) as it approaches Las Vegas. After entering the city of Las Vegas, the highway turns west and intersects

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 ...

on the north side of

. I-515 ends at the Spaghetti Bowl, an interchange with I-15, while the roadway continues west as Oran K. Gragson Freeway (carrying US 95).

History

Prior to the completion of the freeway, US 93 and US 95 originally followed Fremont Street/Boulder Highway from Downtown Las Vegas southeast through Henderson to Boulder City. Boulder Highway was signed as a business route of US 93/US 95 after the freeway was completed, but that designation has since been removed; it is now just SR 582. The I-515 freeway, which began construction in 1982, is a continuation of the Oran K. Gragson Freeway (named for the former Las Vegas mayor who advocated for the construction of the then Las Vegas Expressway) which ran primarily along the former West Fremont Street alignment between

and Rainbow Boulevard. The spur was completed southeast to Charleston Boulevard ( SR 159) in 1984, to Tropicana Avenue ( SR 593) in 1986, to Russell Road in 1988, to Lake Mead Parkway ( SR 564) (then known as ''Lake Mead Drive,'' SR 146 west and SR 147 east), in 1990, and finally to Railroad Pass just south of

in 1994 at an at-grade intersection with Paradise Hills Drive (which was eventually removed). With this extension of highway complete, the length of I-515 was . The I-515 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 protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United ...

(AASHTO) on July 12, 1976, from the I-15 interchange to the junction of US 93 and US 95 (at Boulder Highway, current exit 70). On December 7, 1984, AASHTO approved the southeasterly extension of the route to its former terminus near Boulder City. Even though the route number was approved prior to the highway's construction, I-515 was not consistently signed until after the freeway was completed down to its former southern terminus north of Railroad Pass in 1994. With the pending construction of the Boulder City Bypass introducing the I-11 designation to Nevada, 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) sought to connect the new route to other Interstate Highways. NDOT submitted an application to AASHTO at their spring 2014 meeting to request the designation of "Future Interstate 11", which included routing I-11 along existing I-515 between Railroad Pass and the I-215 Henderson Spaghetti Bowl interchange—AASHTO approved this request on May 29, 2014, with condition that it also be approved by the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program ...

. The Boulder City Bypass was completed in August 2018. As a result, I-515 was shortened by to its current length of . NDOT began replacing I-515 signs along the southern stretch with I-11 signs on March 17, 2019. The signing continued through April 26, 2019.

Future

The designation of future I-11 is planned to connect the

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, and Las Vegas metropolitan areas, with potential for future expansion northwest of Las Vegas to

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 th ...

in the northwestern part of the state. The current I-515 alignment, with a continuation northwest along US 95, is one of three corridors under consideration to carry the I-11 designation through the Las Vegas Valley. On July 27, 2022, it was announced that the Nevada Department of Transportation had chosen the central corridor, following the current path of I-515 and US 95, as the preferred alternative for the alignment of I-11 through Las Vegas.

Exit list

Exits on I-515 are numbered according to US 95 mileposts.

References

External links

Interstate Guide: Interstate 515

Nevada Department of Transportation I-515 Corridor Study
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