Interstate 580 (Nevada)

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 This article contains information about a planned or expected future road.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the road's construction or completion approaches and more information becomes available.
Interstate 580
Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System
Maintained by Nevada DOT
Length: 4.989 mi[1] (8.029 km)
South end: Current: Neil Road in Reno

Future: US 50 / US 395 / SR 529 S. Carson St in Carson City
Major
junctions:
US 395 Business (S. Virginia St)
North end: I-80 in Reno
Nevada highways
< SR 579 SR 582 >

Interstate 580 (I-580) in Nevada is an unsigned Interstate highway. I-580 runs concurrently with the current U.S. Route 395 in Reno, for approximately five miles between Interstate 80 and Neil Road.[1] Since US 395 is known as the North-South Freeway and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Freeway in the Reno area, existing I-580 also retains these names; I-580 will also be called the Carson City Freeway once completed.

Contents

[edit] Route description

I-580 is still in development and will eventually be a signed Interstate highway. The highway exists today (although unsigned) from I-80 to Neil Road. The section of US 395 between Neil Road and Mt. Rose Highway is up to Interstate specifications, but is not currently part of unsigned I-580. Eventually, the highway will continue in a southerly direction from Neil Road, using new and existing freeway segments, to terminate at the junction of US 395 and US 50 just south of Carson City. I-580 shields are expected to be posted once construction projects on future segments of the highway are complete. At this time, there are no indications that I-580 will be extended north of I-80, even though this portion is also built to interstate highway standards.

[edit] History

Development of the I-580/US 395 freeway has been in planning since 1957, but significant construction did not occur until over a decade later. Below is a timeline of the opening dates of the current freeway segments that are or will be part of I-580.[2]

  • 1964-1970: Washoe Valley - Washoe County/Carson City line to Winters Ranch (near junction SR 429)
  • 1973: Reno - Panther Valley (north of Reno) to Glendale Avenue (only the I-80 to Glendale Avenue stretch of this segment is designated I-580.)
  • 1980: Reno - Glendale Avenue to South Virginia Street (at Exit 63 half-interchange)
  • 1983: Reno - South Virginia Street to South Virginia Street (at Exit 61)
  • 1983-1998: Reno - South Virginia Street to Mount Rose Highway
  • 2006: Carson City - North Carson Street to East William Street (US 50)

[edit] Future

From its current terminus at the Mount Rose Interchange, I-580 will then follow a new alignment west of the current roadway in Pleasant Valley to connect with the existing freeway section in Washoe Valley (near Washoe Lake). I-580 will continue south on this freeway alignment and along the Carson City Bypass to its eventual southern terminus at the junction of US 395 and Westbound US 50. The I-580 designation is expected to be posted on the entire stretch once all future freeway segments are constructed.

Much of the future I-580 will be co-signed with US 395 in Reno and Carson City, although it is unknown at this time whether US 395 will be rerouted to the new I-580 freeway alignment through Pleasant Valley.

[edit] I-580 Freeway Extension Project

North of Washoe Lake (Washoe Valley to Mount Rose Highway), I-580 will be built along the western hillsides of Pleasant Valley. This new highway is designed to remove the Reno/Carson City commuter traffic and Reno/South Lake Tahoe traffic from the routing of US 395 (also SR 430) through Pleasant Valley. Currently, high traffic volumes and excessive speeding have been the cause of numerous traffic accidents and fatalities along this stretch of US 395.

The new freeway will be constructed to Interstate standards and include three travel lanes in each direction. Additionally, seven bridges will be constructed to carry the highway over existing streams and roads. The south half of the Mount Rose interchange will be completed, and a new Bower's Mansion Road (SR 429) interchange will be constructed at the junction of SR 429 and SR 430 near Winters Ranch. Construction is currently scheduled to wrap up in 2011, although the new contractor on the project aims to finish the job in 2010.

[edit] Carson City Freeway

The Carson City Freeway is designed to remove Reno/Lake Tahoe traffic and other through traffic from the streets of downtown Carson City (specifically, Carson Street). The freeway will bypass downtown to the east, and connect to the junction of US 50 and US 395 south of the city (this is the eventual southern terminus of I-580). The freeway will be constructed to Interstate standards with two lanes in each direction and soundwalls in multiple locations.[3]

The Carson City Freeway is being built in two phases. The first phase constructed the northern half of the freeway from the Eastlake Boulevard interchange (in Washoe Valley) to US 50 east of downtown Carson City. This section was opened to traffic on February 16, 2006.[4] US 395 was rerouted to the freeway (with a temporary US 50 concurrency on William Street), with old US 395 along North Carson Street being redesignated U.S. Route 395 Business.[5]

Phase two of the project has two parts. Phase 2A will construct the central portion of the Carson City Freeway starting at US 50 and continuing south to the next interchange at Fairview Drive. A partial interchange will be constructed at this location in the interim. Phase 2B will complete the remaining freeway to US 50 West, including the interchange with US 395 and South Carson Street. Construction of Phase 2A is expected to finish in 2008 and Phase 2B should be complete by 2010.

[edit] Miscellanea

  • At 690 feet in length, the Galena Creek Bridge in Pleasant Valley will be the longest concrete arch bridge in the United States when constructed.
  • Completion of I-580 will bring the Interstate Highway system to Carson City. Nevada's capital is one of only five U.S. capital cities to not have an Interstate highway. The other capital cities are Juneau, Alaska, Dover, Delaware, Jefferson City, Missouri, and Pierre, South Dakota.
  • The I-580 freeway in Carson City will not have any conventional diamond interchanges. North Carson Street and Arrowhead Parkway are both half-diamonds. College Parkway and US 50 East are Single-point urban interchanges (SPUIs), and South Carson Street will also be a SPUI. Fairview Drive will be a modified diamond interchange with a loop ramp.

[edit] Exit list

Note: For exits on US 395, see U.S. Route 395 in Nevada.

The current route lies entirely within the city of Reno in Washoe County.

# Destinations Notes
62 Neil Road South end of I-580
63 South Virginia Street (US 395 Bus.), Kietzke Lane (SR 667) Southbound exit and northbound entrance
64 Moana Lane Serves Reno-Sparks Convention Center
65 Plumb Lane (SR 653), Villanova Drive – Reno-Tahoe International Airport Signed as exits 65A (Villanova Drive, Plumb Lane) and 65B (airport) southbound
66 Mill Street
67 Glendale Avenue (SR 648)
68 I-80 – Elko, Sacramento North end of I-580

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Nevada State Maintained Highways, Descriptions, Index and Maps
  2. ^ I-580 Freeway Extension Project
  3. ^ Carson City Freeway
  4. ^ Sandi Hoover, After 15 years of waiting, Carson City gets freeway, Reno Gazette-Journal February 17, 2006
  5. ^ Tim Anderson and David Jacobs, Freeway opening spurs hopes of gridlock relief, Reno Gazette-Journal February 10, 2006

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Auxiliary routes of Interstate 80
California: 180 (former) • 280 • 380 • 480 (former) • 580 • 680 • 780 • 880 • 880 (former) • 980 — Nevada: 580 (unsigned) — Wyoming: 180 — Nebraska: 180 • 280 (former) • 480 • 580 (former) • 680 — Iowa: 280 • 380 • 480 • 680 — Illinois: 180 • 280 — Ohio: 280 • 480 • 680 — Pennsylvania: 180 • 180 (former) • 280 (former) • 380 • 480 (former) • 680 (former) — New Jersey: 280 • 680 (former)