 Interstate 80 Business | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 A map of I-80 Bus through the two cities and their location on the interstate border | |||||||
| Route information | |||||||
| Business route ofI-80 | |||||||
| Maintained by the city ofWest Wendover andUDOT | |||||||
| Length | 2.26 mi (3.64 km) | ||||||
| History | Established: 1925 (Victory Highway), 1926 (US 40), 1969 (SR-58), 1976 (SR 224), 1980s (BL-80) | ||||||
| Major junctions | |||||||
| West end |    I-80 /US 93 Alt. inWest Wendover, NV | ||||||
| Major intersections | US 93 Alt. in West Wendover, NV | ||||||
| East end | I-80 nearWendover, UT | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||
| States | Nevada,Utah | ||||||
| Counties | NV:Elko UT:Tooele | ||||||
| Highway system | |||||||
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Interstate 80 Business (I-80 Bus.) is an unofficialbusiness loop ofInterstate 80 (I-80) that is 2.26 miles (3.64 km) long and serves as the main street for the US cities ofWest Wendover, Nevada, andWendover, Utah, along a roadway namedWendover Boulevard. Wendover Boulevard was originally part ofUS Route 40 (US 40), which connectedCalifornia toNew Jersey viaNevada andUtah. A portion of the Nevada segmentruns concurrently withUS 93 Alternate (US 93 Alt.), and the entire portion in Utah iscoterminous withState Route 58 (SR-58). TheNevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) applied for the business loop designation in the early 1980s, but the designation has never been approved; nevertheless, signs are posted in both states. Between July 1976 and 1993, I-80 Bus was concurrent withState Route 224 (SR 224) in Nevada.
Starting at the easternmost Nevada exit of I-80, I-80 Bus. heads south along Florence Way, concurrent withUS 93 Alt. until it intersects with, and turns east onto Wendover Boulevard. Just west of the intersection, the highway passes the West Wendover City Hall, which houses the West Wendover Municipal Court and Eastline Justice Court.[3] Traveling east along Wendover Boulevard, I-80 Bus. passes by thePeppermill Wendover casino, the West Wendover Visitors Center, and Scobie Park.[1][4] US 93 Alt. turns south towardEly, while I-80 Bus. continues east until it reaches theMontego Bay Resort andWendover Nugget casinos.[4] The casinos are connected via askybridge that allows pedestrian access between the hotels without crossing the highway.[5] A line painted on the street marks the Nevada–Utah border.[6] At the border, I-80 Bus. becomes coterminous with SR-58 for the final stretch through Wendover, Utah.[2]
I-80 Bus. continues to the east past Aria Boulevard, which to the north connects to I-80 and to the south leads to the historicWendover Air Force Base, where the509th Composite Group was stationed while it prepared to conduct atomic bomb attacks against Japan during 1944 and 1945.[7] The highway briefly parallels theShafter Subdivision of theUnion Pacific Railroad'sCentral Corridor,[8][9] which was formerly part of theFeather River Route of theWestern Pacific Railroad.[10] As the highway travels east toward a halftrumpet interchange with I-80, the number of lanes drops from five to two. Traffic from I-80 Bus. can access eastbound I-80 or turn off onto Frontage Road; however, to access westbound I-80, travelers must continue eastbound until the next exit and turn around. Traffic into Wendover can access I-80 Bus. from both directions of I-80, and from Frontage Road.[11]
The Utah segment of I-80 Bus. is codified into Utah law as Utah Code §72-4-111.[12] Every year, theUtah Department of Transportation (UDOT) conducts a series of surveys on its highways to measure traffic volume. In 2009, UDOT calculated that anaverage of 2,370 vehicles per day traveled on I-80 Bus. at the state line.[13] This is a significant decrease from the traffic counts earlier in the decade, which measured 11,205 vehicles in 2006, 10,345 in 2005, and 13,840 in 2004.[14] Of this traffic, 21 percent consists of trucks.[15]
A roadway, now named Wendover Boulevard, has existed since June 23, 1925, when theVictory Highway was completed through Wendover. Then governorsGeorge Dern of Utah andJames G. Scrugham of Nevada, as well as the Secretary of AgricultureWilliam Marion Jardine were present to open the highway.[16] Bill Smith and Herman Eckstein opened a filling station at the present location of Wendover Nugget at a cost of $500 early in 1926 (equivalent to $7,073 in 2024[17]).[18] To welcome travelers to his station, he installed a light bulb at the top of a tall pole, which served as the only light in the desert.[19] The earlierLincoln Highway was rerouted to follow the Victory Highway through the region by an order of the Lincoln Highway Association executive committee on October 18, 1926.[18]
Wendover Boulevard was numberedUS 40 through what are now the cities of West Wendover and Wendover beginning in 1926.[20][21] US 40 was the major thoroughfare between San Francisco, in the west, andAtlantic City, New Jersey, in the east.[22] US 40 was routed along theWendover Cut-off,[23] now known as Frontage Road, which was retained as a service road after the completion of the I-80.[24] The US 40 designation was removed by 1976 or 1977, when I-80 was completed through the area.[25] The designation of roadway now numbered US 93 Alt. has changed twice in the past. Between 1932 and 1953,[26][27] it was designatedUS 50, and, between 1954 and either 1978 or 1979,[28][29] it was designated US 50 Alt.
Two other roads have been numbered SR-58 in the past. The first route designated SR-58 was formed in 1945 betweenSR-36 andClover, but was decommissioned in 1953.[30] The second road to use the designation was formed in 1965 betweenI-15 inNew Harmony back to I-15 viaKanarraville, but that road was decommissioned in 1969.[30] The current SR-58 was codified into Utah law in 1969 between the state line and the junction with Frontage Road, which was formerly US 40.[30] Wendover Boulevard between US 93 Alt and the state line was designated SR 224 between July 1, 1976, and April 28, 1993, when the highway was transferred toElko County.[31][32]
Even though I-80 Bus. is signed in both Nevada and Utah, the route has never been officially designated a business loop by theAmerican Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) or by theUtah State Legislature. NDOT applied for the designation, but, in July 1982, the application was deferred by AASHTO until Utah submitted a request for a business loop.[33] No such request has ever been submitted.[34]
Prior to 2007, I-80 Bus. was the only connection to the city of Wendover from Utah. However, a new partialdiamond interchange, which allows traffic from I-80 to exit going westbound and for traffic to enter I-80 eastbound,[11] at Aria Boulevard was constructed.[35] The Aria Boulevard interchange was first planned in 2005[36] and was completed without using any federal funding.[citation needed]
In 2007, the city of West Wendover had two historical markers installed along I-80 Bus., one at the state line and the other at the intersection of US 93 Alt. to commemorate the Victory Highway and US 40.[37]
| State | County | Location | mi [1][2][a] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | Elko | West Wendover | 0.00 | 0.00 |  US 93 Alt. north /I-80 –Elko | Western end of US 93 Alt. concurrency; western terminus of I-80 Bus.; former western terminus of SR 224; I-80 exit 410 |
| 0.28 | 0.45 |  US 93 Alt. south –Ely | Eastern end of US 93 Alt. concurrency | |||
| Nevada–Utah line | Elko–Tooele county line | West Wendover–Wendover line | 0.90 0.000 | 1.45 0.000 |   SR-58 east | Western end of SR-58 concurrency; western terminus of SR-58; former eastern terminus of SR 224 |
| Utah | Tooele | Wendover | 1.280 | 2.060 | Wendover Cut-off (Frontage Road) | FormerUS-40 |
| 1.363 | 2.194 |  I-80 east –Salt Lake,Bonneville Speedway | Eastern end of SR-58 concurrency; eastern terminus of I-80 Bus. and SR-58; no access to I-80 west; I-80 exit 2 | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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