U.S. Route 95

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U.S. Route 95
Length: 1,574 mi[1] (2,553 km)
Formed: 1926[1]
South end: San Luis, AZ at Mexican Border to MX 2
Major
junctions:		 I-8 at Yuma, AZ
I-10 at Quartzsite, AZ/Blythe, CA
I-40 at Needles, CA
I-15 at Las Vegas, NV
I-80 near Winnemucca, NV
I-84 near Fruitland, ID
I-90 at Coeur d'Alene, ID
North end: Hwy 95 at Canadian Border near Eastport, ID
United States Numbered Highways
List - Bannered - Divided - Replaced

U.S. Route 95 is a north-south United States highway. Unlike many other US highways, it has not been the victim of deletion caused by an encroaching Interstate highway corridor.

As of 2008, the highway's northern terminus is in Boundary County, Idaho, at the Canadian border crossing of Eastport, where it continues north as British Columbia Highway 95. Its southern terminus is in San Luis, Arizona, on the Mexican border, where a short spur leads to Mexican Federal Highway 2 at San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora.[2]

Contents

[edit] Route description

Major cities

[edit] Arizona

 Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.


[edit] California

Main article: U.S. Route 95 in California
 Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.


[edit] Nevada

Main article: U.S. Route 95 in Nevada

US 95 in Nevada is a divided highway between the Laughlin Junction and Boulder City. Upon entering the Las Vegas Las Vegas area, the highway becomes a freeway and is concurrent with I-515 and US 93 between Henderson and Downtown Las Vegas. After crossing I-15, the highway continues as a freeway for several miles until again becoming a divided highway outside the Las Vegas urban area. Shortly after entering Nye County, US 95 becomes a two lane highway as it meanders northward throughout the state. The highway is concurrent with US 6 for several miles north of Tonopah and concurrent with I-80 from Exit 83 west of Lovelock to Winnemucca.

Alternate US 95 in Nevada is a two-lane highway that diverges from US 95 in Schurz. From there, Alt US 95 heads west towards Yerington, then turns north to connect to I-80 in Fernley. Alt US 95 then follows I-80 northeast to rejoin the US 95 mainline at exit 83 north of Fallon. Part of Alt US 95 is concurrent with Alt US 50 in a 30 mile (48 km) triangle in the Nevada desert.

[edit] Oregon

US 95 is a rural highway in southeastern Oregon, cutting across Malheur County from the Nevada state line through Burns Junction and Jordan Valley to the Idaho state line. It is designated the I.O.N. Highway No. 456 (see Oregon highways and routes), which stands for Idaho-Oregon-Nevada.

[edit] Idaho

US 95 is one of the few routes with a designated "Spur" route. Spur US 95 runs from US 95 in Weiser, Idaho to a junction with the former route of U.S. Highway 30 (now Oregon Route 201) in Oregon, a distance of just 3 miles (5 km). In 1927, this section of road was signed as U.S. Highway 630, and is said to hold the record as the "shortest signed US highway." It was co-signed for its entire route with US 30N, and in 1933 the US 630 designation was deleted. Sometime after 1980, the US 30N designation was itself deleted, with this three-mile (5 km) segment re-christened "Spur US 95".

[edit] Washington (former)

Main articles: U.S. Route 95 in Washington and U.S. Route 195 Spur (Washington)

North of Lewiston, Idaho, US 95 entered Washington for 0.54 miles, partially concurrent with U.S. Route 195. The route was moved to a new 4-laned divided road that bypassed Washington in the 1970's.[3][4][5]

The route is now U.S. Route 195 Spur.[6]

[edit] History

The modern route of US 95 includes the entire former route of U.S. Highway 630, the shortest signed US route ever, in the form of a rare "spur" route.

[edit] Future

In April 2005, the Idaho legislature approved a bill to widen the entire highway from two lanes to four lanes for the entire route starting at the US-Canada port of entry in Eastport, and ending at the Oregon border in remote Owyhee County, Idaho. The contract for the project was awarded to Washington Group International and CH2M Hill. The contract is worth more than $1.2 billion, and is slated to last for more than six years, cover 13 major reconstruction projects, and over 250 miles (400 km) of U.S. 95's nearly 460 miles (740 km) in the state of Idaho.

The major factors in the reconstruction are due to the fact that U.S. 95 is the only route that runs from north to south in Idaho, starting at Eastport and ending in remote Owyhee County; as well as safety concerns because there have been numerous accidents and fatalities on the narrow and very dangerous curves. This change started with the re-construction and improvements made to Whitebird Hill. Major projects have been undertaken including on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation:

The first stage was completed in August 2005 from just south of Coeur d'Alene to Fighting Creek Road, and is an upgraded four-lane highway for approximately ten miles.

The second stage, from Fighting Creek Road to Lake Creek on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation, was completed in late July-early August 2006 and upgraded a seven-mile (11-km) stretch of the highway.

The third stage, from Lake Creek to Worley, Idaho, is expected to start mid-to-late 2006 and is not expected to be completed until late 2007 or early 2008. This section is significant due to it being entirely on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation. The "new" highway will bypass the Coeur d'Alene Casino, the largest business on the reservation, with the old highway becoming an alternate route that will connect the highway to the casino and the more remote regions of the reservation.

When this 20-mile (32 km) stretch of highway is completed, the length of the highway will have been shortened by about 20 miles (32 km).

Also, a nearly 20-mile (32 km) stretch was completed in 2007 from just north of Lewiston, Idaho to 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Moscow, Idaho.

[edit] See also

[edit] Related routes

[edit] Bannered and suffixed routes

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b US Highways from US 1 to US 830 Robert V. Droz
  2. ^ Endpoints of US highways: U.S. Highway 95 and U.S. Highway 630
  3. ^ Highways of Washington State- US 95 (HTML). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  4. ^ Google Maps. US 95 in Washington (former). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  5. ^ Washington State Department of Transportation, State Highway Log, 2006
  6. ^ Highways of Washington State- US 195 Spur (HTML). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.

[edit] External links


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