U.S. Route 93 in Nevada

U.S. Route 93
Great Basin Highway
Route information
Maintained by NDOT
Length:	520 mi[1] (840 km) 451.731 mi (726.991 km) separate from other routes[2]
Existed:	1926 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 93 at Arizona state line on Mike O'Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge
	US 95 in Boulder City I‑215 in Henderson I‑15 / US 95 in Las Vegas CC 215 in Las Vegas I‑15 near Apex US 6 / US 50 in Majors Place US 6 / US 50 in Ely US 93 Alt. at Lages Station I‑80 / US 93 Alt. in Wells
North end:	US-93 at the Idaho state line near Jackpot
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced Highways in Nevada Interstate U.S. State pre-1976 Scenic ← SR 88 US 93 Alt. →

In the U.S. state of Nevada, U.S. Route 93 (US 93) is a major United States Highway traversing the eastern edge of the state. The highway connects the Las Vegas area to the Great Basin National Park, and provides further connections to Ely and Wells. US 93 also provides the majority of the most direct connection between the major metropolitan areas of Las Vegas and Phoenix (via Boulder City, Kingman and Wickenburg with a final link to Phoenix via US 60).

Route description

U.S. Route 93 in Nevada is known as the Great Basin Highway throughout the state. It begins at the Mike O'Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge in Boulder City. The highway overlaps U.S. Route 95 for 3.2 miles from an interchange between downtown Boulder City and the Railroad Pass Hotel and Casino to Interstate 215. It runs to the Las Vegas Valley passing through the cities of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas. U.S. 93 merges with Interstate 15 at the Spaghetti Bowl interchange and overlaps I-15 for approximately 21 miles. After overlapping I-15, U.S. 93 heads northwest towards Alamo.

Signage along the Scenic Byway section of U.S. Route 93

Near Crystal Springs, U.S. 93 curves right while intersecting State Routes 318 and 375. U.S. 93 continues east to mountainous terrain to the town of Caliente. The highway turns left to go north to Pioche. 80 miles later, the highway turns left at an intersection with U.S. Routes 6 and 50. From State Route 318 to the US Routes 6 and 50 intersection, the highway is a Nevada Scenic Byway. Near Ely, the three U.S. routes separate. U.S. 6 turns left before the intersection U.S. 50 and 93 separate, heading southwest. U.S. 50 and 93 separate, with route 50 heading northwest towards Austin, Nevada and route 93 heading northeast.

In Lages Station, U.S. 93 turns left, while U.S. 93 Alternate continues straight. In Wells, U.S. 93 intersects Interstate 80. The highway continues into Idaho after passing through Jackpot.

Southbound U.S. 93 between Boulder City and the Hoover Dam

Near Interstate 15, looking north

History

Establishment

U.S. Route 93 was not one of the original U.S. highways proposed in the 1925 Bureau of Public Roads plan.^[3] However, the revised numbering plan approved by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) on November 11, 1926 established US 93 from the Canadian border near Eureka, Montana south through Montana and Idaho to a southern terminus at Wells, Nevada.^[4][5] The establishment of the highway was reflected on Nevada's 1927 official highway map.^[6] The Nevada section was approximately 70 miles (110 km), commissioned along what was then the northern portion of State Route 13.^[7]

AASHO, at its June 8, 1931 meeting, approved a southerly extension of US 93 south to Glendale, Nevada.^[4] By 1932, the Nevada Department of Highways had marked the continuation of the highway using the routing of several preexisting state highways as follows:^[8]

• From Wells, US 93 continued southeast along the remainder of SR 13 to its terminus at Lages Station.
• At Lages Station, the highway turned south, overlapping the southern portion of State Route 24 to Magnuson's Ranch.
• At Magnuson's Ranch, US 93 followed State Route 2 south for 31.2 miles (50.2 km) to Ely.
• The highway was then routed concurrently along the entirety of the nearly 250-mile (400 km) State Route 7, running southeast from Ely through Connor's Pass, south through Pioche to Caliente, west to Crystal Springs and then southeast through Alamo and Moapa before terminating at U.S. Route 91/State Route 6 in Glendale.

At the request of the Arizona State Highway Department, the AASHO route numbering committee approved another extension of US 93 in 1935. This shifted the southern terminus south to Kingman, Arizona by way of Las Vegas.^[4] However, Nevada officials may not have signed the extension of US 93 right away, since it was not shown on state-published maps until 1939.^[4][9][10] The highway was again extended along existing highways:^[9][10]

• From Glendale, US 93 followed US 91/SR 6 southwest 50 miles (80 km) to Las Vegas.
• In downtown Las Vegas, the route turned southeast and ran concurrent with U.S. Route 466/State Route 5 for 19 miles (31 km) southeast to the town of Alunite (near the present-day Railroad Pass).
• At Alunite, US 93 and US 466 turned to follow State Route 26 east for 4 miles (6.4 km) into Boulder City.
• In Boulder City, the combined US Routes dropped SR 26 and gained State Route 42 for the final 6-mile (9.7 km) journey towards Boulder Dam and into Arizona.

The new routing put the Nevada mileage of U.S. Route 93 at approximately 540 miles (870 km). The entire highway within Nevada was paved by 1939.^[10]

View south along U.S. 93 just north of Wells

Route changes

After US 93 was extended to Arizona in the 1930s, the route remained unchanged for many years. A 19-mile (31 km) concurrency with U.S. Route 95 between Las Vegas and Alunite was added in 1940, when that highway was extended through southern Nevada along State Route 5.^[11]

The first major shift of US 93 occurred in 1967, when a new highway connection was completed between US 91 (now I-15) and a point 24 miles (39 km) northwest of Glendale. The new alignment was oriented more north–south, shortening the distance between the Las Vegas area and Caliente by 23 miles (37 km) . The old section of US 93 northwest of Glendale paralleling the Muddy River remained as State Route 7,^[12] and was renumbered in 1976 to State Route 168.

In 1982, a "truck bypass" along the upper reaches of Hemenway Wash, to skirt the central portion of Boulder City and allow a straighter, more steady climb for commercial vehicles, was nearing completion. But by the time this new route opened, it had been signed as mainline US 93, with the old, winding route of US 93 on the Nevada Highway (original SR 26) through town being changed to SR 500. This state highway designation was later dropped and that roadway is now maintained by Boulder City as "Nevada Way". The western end of this 1982 bypass was also later realigned from Colorado Street south to intersect directly at Buchanan Boulevard (in place of a wye intersection with Nevada Way a block to the east at Joshua Street), by using a small portion of abandoned railroad right-of-way. A shopping center now sits where the original truck bypass alignment once ran.

US 93 was realigned again on October 19, 2010, when the Mike O'Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge over the Black Canyon of the Colorado River opened to vehicular traffic. With that, the highway no longer passes over Hoover Dam, and the state-maintained portion of the replaced route was renamed as Hoover Dam Access Road (SR 172).^[13] In 2011, US 93 from Buchanan Boulevard to the Nevada terminus of the Hoover Dam Bypass was expanded to four through lanes with dedicated turn lanes at major intersections to better handle increased traffic loads from the new Hoover Dam Bypass until its long-planned companion freeway around Boulder City can be completed.^[14]

Major intersections

Note: Mileposts in Nevada reset at county lines; the start and end mileposts for each county are given in the county column.

County	Location	mi[15]	km	Destinations	Notes
Colorado River		0.00	0.00	Mike O'Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge US 93 continues across the Arizona state line
Clark 0.00–86.58	Lake Mead NRA			SR 172 (Hoover Dam Access Road) – Hoover Dam	Interchange; signed as exit 2; former US 93
				Lakeshore Drive – Lake Mead	Former SR 166
	Boulder City	11.29	18.17	US 95 south – Searchlight, Laughlin, Needles	Interchange; south end of US 95 overlap; actual mileage is 10.090 from state line since October 20, 2010[16]
	Henderson			US 93 overlaps US 95 for 3.207 miles (to I-515)
	Henderson Las Vegas			US 93 overlaps I-515 & US 95 for 20.024 miles (exits 56 to 76)
	Las Vegas North Las Vegas			US 93 overlaps with I-15 for 21.637 miles (exits 42 to 64)
		52.03	83.73	I‑15 north – Mesquite, Salt Lake City	North end of I-15 overlap
				SR 168 – Moapa, Glendale
Lincoln 0.00–172.87	Crystal Springs			SR 318 – Hiko, Sunnyside
	Caliente			SR 317 – Elgin
	Panaca			SR 319
				SR 816 (Airport Road)	Serves Lincoln County Airport
				SR 320 (Caselton Mine Road)
				SR 321 – Pioche
	Pioche			SR 322 – Ursine, Spring Valley State Park
				SR 321 – Pioche
				SR 320 (Caselton Mine Road)
White Pine 0.00–116.69				SR 894 – Shoshone
	Majors Place	27.61	44.43	US 6 east / US 50 east – Baker, Delta	South end of US 6 / US 50 overlap
	Ely			US 6 west – Tonopah	North end of US 6 overlap
		53.45	86.02	US 50 west – Eureka, Austin	North end of US 50 overlap
				SR 490 (Ely Prison Road)
	Lages Station			US 93 Alt. north – West Wendover
Elko 0.00–127.54				SR 229 (Secret Pass Road) – Ruby Valley	Serves Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge
				SR 232 (Clover Valley Road)
	Wells			I‑80 / US 93 Alt. south – Elko, Salt Lake City
				SR 223 (6th Street)
	Jackpot	127.54	205.26	US-93 continues across the Idaho state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

See also

• U.S. Route 93 Alternate
• Interstate 11

References

1. Google (February 14, 2015). "Overview of US 93 in Nevada" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
2. Nevada Department of Transportation (January 2013). "State Maintained Highways of Nevada: Descriptions and Maps". Retrieved January 26, 2013.
3. Droz, Robert V. (February 24, 2003). "1925 US Highway Plan". U.S. Highways: from US 1 to (US 830). Retrieved June 7, 2009.
4. "U.S. 93 Reaching For The Border". Highway History. Federal Highway Administration. January 9, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
5. Droz, Robert V. (February 28, 2005). "US Highways in 1927". U.S. Highways: from US 1 to (US 830). Retrieved June 7, 2009.
6. Highway Map of the State of Nevada (Map). 1 in. = 25 mi. Nevada Department of Highways. 1927. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
7. Highway Map State of Nevada (Map). 1 in. = 25 mi. Nevada Department of Highways. 1929. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
8. Road Map (Map). 1 in. = 20 mi. Nevada Department of Highways. 1932. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
9. Official Road Map of the State of Nevada (Map) (1936 ed.). Nevada Department of Highways. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
10. Official Road Map of the State of Nevada (Map) (1939 ed.). Nevada Department of Highways. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
11. Official Road Map of the State of Nevada (Map) (1940 ed.). Nevada Department of Highways. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
12. Official Highway Map of Nevada (Map) (1967 ed.). Nevada State Highway Department. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
13. Nevada Department of Transportation (January 2012). "2012 Nevada State Maintained Highways, Descriptions, Index and Maps" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
14. Nevada Department of Transportation. "The Boulder City Bypass". Retrieved January 29, 2012.
15. Nevada Department of Transportation (May 2008). Maps of Milepost Location on Nevada's Federal and State Highway System by County.
16. 2011 Nevada's State Maintained Highways Descriptions, Index and Maps July–August–September Changes, Nevada Department of Transportation, October 6, 2010

External links

• Media related to U.S. Route 93 in Nevada at Wikimedia Commons
• AARoads: U.S. Highway 93 – Nevada