Interstate 515
I-515 highlighted in red | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by NDOT | ||||
Length | 20.010 mi[1] (32.203 km) | |||
Existed | July 12, 1976 – present | |||
History | Approved on July 12, 1976; Opened in stages 1982–1994; Signed in 1994 | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end |
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North end |
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Highway system | ||||
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Interstate 515 (I-515) is a 20.010-mile-long (32.203 km) spur route of Interstate 15 in Nevada that runs from I-11 just north of Railroad Pass in southeastern Henderson to the junction of I-15, US 93 and US 95 (the Las Vegas Spaghetti Bowl Interchange) in Downtown Las Vegas. The freeway connects traffic headed from Boulder City and Henderson to Downtown Las Vegas via a direct, high-speed route, and is concurrent 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 current terminus in 1994, when signs of the designation finally were put up. I-515 was built as a part of the then Las Vegas Freeway to bypass Fremont Street and Boulder Highway, both of which were former alignments of US 93 and US 95, and provide a direct freeway connection with Henderson.
Route description
I-515 begins in southeast Henderson as a continuation of I-11 over Paradise Hills Drive, concurrent with US Routes 93 and 95. The freeway bypasses Henderson, and intersects I-215 and SR 564 at the Henderson Spaghetti Bowl interchange west of Henderson. Continuing northwest, the highway passes through the southeastern areas of the Las Vegas Valley. After intersecting Charleston Boulevard, the freeway turns west and runs just north of downtown Las Vegas before ending at the Spaghetti Bowl Interchange with I-15/US 93/US 95.
History
The 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 Las Vegas Boulevard 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 just south of Boulder Highway in 1994 at an at-grade intersection with Paradise Hills Drive (which was eventually removed.)
The I-515 designation was first approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (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).[2] On December 7, 1984, AASHTO approved the southeasterly extension of the route to its current terminus near Boulder City.[3] 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 current southern terminus north of Railroad Pass in 1994.
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 towards to Boulder City. Boulder Highway was signed as a business route of US 93/95 after the freeway was completed, but that designation has since been removed; it is now just State Route 582.
Despite being designated and signed for several years, most Las Vegas residents refer to the I-515 freeway as "US 95". This is due to the continuation of US 95 as a separate freeway west and north of I-15 (I-515 ends at I-15, while US 93 joins I-15) and also because this Interstate uses US 95 milepost and exit numbers rather than its own unique ones.
Future
The designation of future Interstate 11 is planned to connect the Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas metropolitan areas, with potential for future expansion northwest of Las Vegas to Reno 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.[4] The portion of the route south of the Henderson Spaghetti Bowl interchange was planned to be redesignated as I-11 upon completion of the Boulder City Bypass on August 9, 2018; however, this has not occurred as of yet.
Exit list
Exits on I-515 are numbered according to US 95 mileposts. The entire route is in Clark County.
Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
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Henderson | Continuation beyond southern terminus; south end of US 93/US 95 concurrency | ||||
56A | Wagon Wheel Drive, Nevada State Drive | Signed as exit 56 southbound; serves Nevada State College | |||
56B | Boulder Highway (SR 582 north) | Southbound exit and northbound entrance are via exit 56 | |||
57 | College Drive | Serves College of Southern Nevada, Henderson Campus | |||
59 | Horizon Drive | Former diamond interchange, Diverging diamond interchange completed and opened on January 25, 2015 (Nevada's second DDI) | |||
61 | Signed as exits 61A (west) and 61B (east) southbound; I-215 exit 1; serves St. Rose Dominican Hospital – Rose de Lima Campus | ||||
62 | Auto Show Drive | ||||
64A | Sunset Road | ||||
64B | Galleria Drive | ||||
65 | Russell Road | Serves Sam Boyd Stadium | |||
Paradise | 68 | Tropicana Avenue (SR 593) – McCarran Airport | |||
69 | Flamingo Road (SR 592) | Serves Desert Springs Hospital | |||
Winchester–Sunrise Manor line | 70 | Boulder Highway (SR 582) | |||
Sunrise Manor–Las Vegas line | 72 | Charleston Boulevard (SR 159) | |||
Las Vegas | 73 | Eastern Avenue | |||
75A | Las Vegas Boulevard – Downtown Las Vegas, Cashman Center | Signed as exit 75 northbound | |||
75B | Casino Center Boulevard – Downtown Las Vegas | Southbound exit only; northbound entrance is via 4th Street | |||
76 | Signed as exits 76A (south) and 76B (north); I-15 exit 42; north end of US 93/US 95 concurrency; freeway continues north as US 95 | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
Nevada portal U.S. Roads portal
References
- ↑ Nevada Department of Transportation (January 2018). "State Maintained Highways of Nevada: Descriptions and Maps". Retrieved September 11, 2018.
- ↑ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (July 13, 1976). "Route Numbering Committee Agenda Showing Action Taken by the Executive Committee" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Retrieved November 7, 2014 – via Wikimedia Commons.
- ↑ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (December 7, 1984). "Route Numbering Committee Agenda" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Retrieved November 7, 2014 – via Wikimedia Commons.
- ↑ "Corridor Concept Report: I-11 and Intermountain West Corridor Study" (PDF). I-11 Corridor Study. November 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 515. |
Route map: