U.S. Route 95
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U.S. Route 95 |
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Length: | 1,574 mi[1] (2,553 km) | ||||||||
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Formed: | 1926[1] | ||||||||
South end: | San Luis, AZ at Mexican Border | ||||||||
Major junctions: |
I-8 at Yuma, AZ I-10 at Quartzsite, AZ/Blythe, CA |
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North end: | BC 95 at Canadian Border near Eastport, ID | ||||||||
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U.S. Route 95 is a north-south United States highway. Unlike many other US highways, it has not been the victim of decommissioning by an encroaching Interstate highway corridor.
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[edit] Route
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] Termini
As of 2004, the highway's northern terminus is in Boundary County, Idaho, at the Canadian border, where it continues as British Columbia provincial 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]
[edit] Alternate routes
As of 2004, US 95 has two alternate routes.
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 state highway 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 decommissioned. Sometime after 1980, the US 30N designation was itself decommissioned, with this three-mile (5 km) segment re-christened "Spur US 95".
- Main article: U.S. Route 95 Alternate
Alternate US 95 in Nevada has a northern terminus in northern Churchill County. It rejoins US 95 in Schurz. While the main line of US 95 diverges from Interstate 80 at exit 83 and heads due south through Fallon, Alternate US 95 follows I-80 west to Fernley before turning south to Yerington. Alt US 95 then turns due east to rejoin the main line. Part of Alt US 95 is shared with Alt US 50 in a 30 mile (48 km) triangle in the Nevada desert.
[edit] States traversed
The highway passes through the following states:
[edit] California
Legal Definition of Route 95: California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 395
Route 95 is part of the Freeway and Expressway System, as stated by section 253.5 of the California State Highway Code. |
[edit] Nevada
US 95 is a major freeway in the Las Vegas area; it is also signed as I-515 and US 93 south of the Interstate 15 interchange downtown. After downtown it continues as US95 US93 I-515 towards Henderson.
[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, which is Highway 456.
[edit] Idaho
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 Porthill, Idaho US/Canadian port of entry, 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 dollars, and is slated to last for more than six years, cover 13 major reconstruction projects, and over two hundred and fifty miles of the almost four hundred and sixty miles that Highway 95 has in the state of Idaho.
The major factors in the reconstruction are due to the fact that US-95 is the only instate route from north to south in Idaho, starting at Porthill, Idaho and ending in remote Owyhee County, Idaho. As well as safety concerns because there have been numerous accidents and fatalies 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 has been improved and opened in August of 2005 from just south of Couer d'Alene to Fighting creek and is a four lane highway for approximately ten miles.
The second stage, from Fighting Creek to Lake Creek on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation, is currently under progress and will affect a 7 mile stretch of the highway. The project was completed late in July early August 2006.
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 stretch of highway is completed, the length of the highway will have been cut down by about 20 miles.
[edit] Related US routes
[edit] References
- ^ a b US Highways from US 1 to US 830 Robert V. Droz
- ^ Endpoints of US highways: U.S. Highway 95 and U.S. Highway 630
[edit] External links
- US95
- Nevada Department of Transportion US-95 Widening Project
- Washington Group/CH2M Hill Join Venture announcement of contract award.
U.S. Routes | Main|||||||||||||||||||
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80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 87 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | ||
101 | 163 | 400 | 412 | 425 | |||||||||||||||
Lists | U.S. Routes - Bannered - Divided - Replaced |
Browse numbered routes | ||||
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< SR 94 | CA | SR 96 > | ||
< US 93 | NV | SR 115 > | ||
< OR 86S | OR | US 97 > |