Unlike many other US Highways, it has not seen deletion or replacement on most of its length by an encroaching Interstate Highway corridor, due to its mostly rural and mountainous course. Because of this, it still travels from border to border and is a primary north–south highway in both Nevada and Idaho. This is one of the few US Routes to cross from Mexico to Canada.
US 95 begins in the United States at the San Luis Port of Entry, which connects it with Mexico. It then follows the Colorado River northward to San Luis and on to Yuma, where it goes through town and crosses I-8. As it leaves Yuma, US 95 is an undivided two-lane highway that passes through the U.S. Army'sYuma Proving Ground.
Sign for a US 95 junction along Interstate 10
It then travels northward between the proving ground to the west and the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge to the east until Quartzsite. Here, it merges with I-10 and runs concurrent, heading westward for 17 miles (27 km) until the Colorado River, where it enters California, just shy of Blythe.
US 95 spends 123.16 miles (198.21 km) in Arizona.[3]
US 95 enters California at Blythe along its dual segment/concurrency with I-10. It travels largely parallel to the west bank of the Colorado River until it joins I-40 in Needles. The route then travels north from Goffs to the Nevada state line.
The total distance in California is about 130 miles (210 km). It is the only US Highway to enter California but not terminate there.
US 95 in Nevada is a divided highway between Cal-Nev-Ari (the SR 163 junction to Laughlin) and Boulder City. It is the longest highway in Nevada, at nearly 647 miles (1,040 km). It joins at the interchange as a multi-lane divided freeway past SR 173 and as part of the concurrent route of I-11 and US 93 in Boulder City. Upon entering the Las Vegas Valley, I-11 ends at I-215 and SR 564; I-515 begins here in Henderson. It is also concurrent with I-515 and US 93 between Henderson and Downtown Las Vegas. It crosses I-15 at the Spaghetti Bowl, where I-515 ends and US 93 becomes concurrent with I-15. US 95 continues as a freeway until again becoming a divided highway at Corn Creek Road, northwest of the Las Vegas Valley.
Shortly after entering Nye County, US 95 becomes an undivided two-lane highway past the Mercury interchange, as it meanders northwestward through the state, roughly paralleling the California state line. Along this route, it runs through the Amargosa Valley, serving Beatty before heading north into Goldfield and Tonopah. The highway is concurrent with US 6 for several miles north of Tonopah, before it then heads north towards Hawthorne, Schurz (where it meets US 95 ALT, which heads northwest toward Yerington, Carson City—via US 50 west—Reno—via Ramsey Weeks Cutoff, US 50 east, SR 439 north, and I-80 west—and Fernley) and Fallon. North of Fallon, it meets and runs concurrently with I-80 for 93 miles (150 km), from Exit 83 west of Lovelock to Exit 176 at Winnemucca. It then heads north to the border with Oregon at McDermitt, a distance of 73 miles (120 km).
In Oregon, US 95 is an undivided two-lane highway in the sparsely-populated high desert in the southeastern corner of the state, running completely in rural Malheur County. From the Nevada state line at McDermitt, the highway heads north and gradually climbs to its crest at Blue Mountain Pass, at an elevation of 5,293 feet (1,613 m) above sea level. US 95 descends to Basque Station and Burns Junction at 3,960 feet (1,210 m), then eastward down to Rome (3,390 ft [1,030 m]) and up to Jordan Valley (4,389 ft [1,338 m]). The highway heads north-northeastward to the Idaho state line, entering southwest of Marsing in Owyhee County. The speed limit on US 95 in Oregon was 55 miles per hour (89 kilometers per hour) until March 2016, when it was raised to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) to match the speed limits set by Nevada and Idaho.[4]
Intersection of US 95 and Oregon Route 78
US 95 is designated the I.O.N. Highway No. 456 (see Oregon highways and routes); "I.O.N." stands for Idaho–Oregon–Nevada. This section of highway is a primary commercial route between Boise and northern California, connecting to I-80 at Winnemucca, Nevada. US 95 crosses into the Mountain Time Zone approximately 35 miles (56 km) north of Nevada.
US 95 is an undivided two-lane highway during most of its length in Idaho, which is over 538 miles (866 km).
US 95 enters Idaho from Oregon in Owyhee County, about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Boise. It passes through Homedale and crosses the Snake River before a junction with concurrent US 20 and US 26, which run together for eight miles (13 km). As it proceeds north, US 95 crosses I-84 and US 30 before going through the Payette National Forest. Immediately after Riggins, the highway re-enters the Pacific Time Zone as it crosses the Salmon River. US 95 follows the descending river, then climbs over White Bird Hill to the Camas Prairie, then descends the Lapwai Canyon to the Clearwater River. In August 2015, milepost 420 was replaced with one reading 419.9 to prevent the sign from being stolen by marijuana enthusiasts.[5]
US 95 becomes a four-lane divided highway after crossing the river east of Lewiston; it runs concurrent with US 12 for several miles. The highways split as US 12 continues west to Lewiston, and US 95 turns northwest and climbs a steep grade up to the rolling Palouse. At a junction with US 195, US 95 proceeds north to Moscow as a recently completed divided highway. It becomes an undivided highway in Moscow and continues north to Coeur d'Alene, crossing I-90. US 95 goes north to Sandpoint, where it joins with US 2, after which the highways run concurrent until after Bonners Ferry, where US 2 heads east to Montana, and US 95 continues north to Canada, meeting BC 95 at the Canadian border, at the Eastport-Kingsgate Border Crossing.
History
US 95 was one of the original U.S. highways proposed in the 1925 Bureau of Public Roads numbering plan. Under the original proposal, the highway would only exist in Idaho, from Payette to the Canada–US border north of Eastport.[6] When the plan was adopted by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials on November 11, 1926, the route of US 95 had been approved south to Weiser, still existing solely in Idaho.[7] A proposal to extend US 95 south to Winnemucca, Nevada, was considered by AASHO in 1937; however, action was deferred due to sections in Oregon that were incomplete. AASHTO reconsidered the idea at its meeting on June 28, 1939, as part of a larger plan to extend the highway south to Blythe, California. This plan was adopted at that meeting and became effective on January 1, 1940.[7] On June 27, 1960, US 95 was extended further south into Arizona, through Yuma to the Mexican border in San Luis, which still serves as the southern terminus of US 95.[7]
North of Lewiston, Idaho, US 95 entered Washington for 0.91 miles (1.46 km), partially concurrent with U.S. Route 195.[8][9] The route was moved to a new four-lane divided highway that bypassed Washington in October 1977.[10] The section was replaced by an extension of US 195 and a spur route created in 1979.[11]
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 US-Canada port of entry in Eastport, and ending at the border with Oregon in remote Owyhee County. 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, affecting over 250 miles (400 km) of the highway's nearly 460 miles (740 km) in the state.
The major factors in the reconstruction are due to the fact that US 95 is the only route that runs from north to south in western Idaho, starting at Eastport in the north 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 reconstruction and improvements made to White Bird 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 (16 km). 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, started mid-to-late 2006 and was completed in 2008. This section is significant, as it is on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation. The "new" highway bypasses 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. This project improved a 20-mile (32 km) stretch of highway and shortened the length of the highway by about 20 miles (32 km).
Also, a nearly 20-mile (32 km) stretch was completed in 2007 from just north of Lewiston to 6 miles (10 km) south of Moscow.
Future
Nevada
Future I-11 in Nevada
US 95 is part of a proposed northwestward extension of Interstate 11 (I-11) from Las Vegas. The interstate highway would primarily follow the US 95 corridor through central and northwestern Nevada, extending to I-80 near Reno and Sparks via Tonopah. In 2018, the Nevada Department of Transportation had initiated public outreach regarding its long-range planning efforts to narrow down options for the future I-11 corridor.[12][13]
^Washington State Department of Transportation (1978). Washington State Highway Map and Guide (Map). Olympia: Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 2, 2022 – via WSDOT Library Digital Collections.
^Washington State Legislature (April 23, 1979). "Chapter 33: State Highway Routes"(PDF). Session Laws of the State of Washington, 1979 1st extraordinary session. Washington State Legislature. p. 1118. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
Fed. 2 at the Mexican border in San Luis, AZ
Hwy 95 at the Canadian border in Eastport, ID
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