U.S. Route 50 is a transcontinental highway in the United States. It stretches from West Sacramento, California, in the west to Ocean City, Maryland, on the east coast. The Nevada portion of the highway was named The Loneliest Road in America by Life magazine in July 1986.
About U.S. Route 50 in Nevada in brief
U.S. Route 50 is a transcontinental highway in the United States. It stretches from West Sacramento, California, in the west to Ocean City, Maryland, on the east coast. The Nevada portion of the highway was named The Loneliest Road in America by Life magazine in July 1986. The name originates from large desolate areas traversed by the route, with few or no signs of civilization. US 50 has a diverse route through the state, traversing the resort communities of Lake Tahoe, the state capital in Carson City, historical sites such as Fort Churchill State Historic Park, petroglyphs, alpine forests, desert valleys, ghost towns, and Great Basin National Park. In the stretch of highway between Fallon and Delta, Utah, a span of 409 miles, there are three small towns, Austin, Eureka, and Ely. This span is roughly the same distance as Boston, Massachusetts, to Baltimore, Maryland,. or Paris, France, to Zürich, Switzerland. The highway crosses 17 named mountain passes that break up the Nevada desert. To crest some of the passes along US 50 requires navigating steep 8% grades and hairpin turns through pine forests to reach elevations of over 7,000 feet. The average annual daily traffic in 2007 ranged from 52,000 vehicles per day in Carson city, to 530 vehicles perday near the Duckwater turnoff. At Silver Springs, U. S. S Route 50 Alternate splits from the main route and the promotional passport includes a stamping location at Fernley, Nevada. The two branches rejoin along the west of Fallon, leaving the last usable water of the Carson River at the town of Carson Sinkus at the termini of the river’s termini.
The route was constructed over a historic corridor, initially used for the Pony Express and Central Overland Route and later for the Lincoln Highway. The routing east of Ely has changed significantly from the original plans. The route change resulted from a rivalry between Nevada and Utah over which transcontinental route was better to serve California-bound traffic, theincoln Highway or the Victory Highway. In addition to portions being designated the Lonelier Road and Lincoln Highway, the portion concurrent with Interstate 580 in CarsonCity is designated the Carson City Deputy Sheriff Carl Howell Memorial Freeway in honor of a sheriff’s officer who was shot to death while attempting to rescue a victim of domestic violence from her house. Before the formation of the U. S. Highway System, most of US 30 in Nevada was designated State Route 2. In addition, the highway parallels the Carson river branch of the California Trail, which was once the most dreaded part of the California Trail, where travelers had to endure 40 miles of desert heat with no usable water. The road passes by ancient petroglodyte sites at Grimes Point and Sand Mountain. The town of Grimes Point is located just south of the border between the Carson and Humboldt rivers, and is home to the TOPGUN Air Station.
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This page is based on the article U.S. Route 50 in Nevada published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 23, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
