 U.S. Route 95 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 95 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Length | 1,561 mi[1] (2,512 km) | |||
| Existed | November 11, 1926–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | Calle 1 to Fed. 2 at theMexican border inSan Luis, AZ | |||
| Major intersections |
| |||
| North end |  Highway 95 at theCanadian border inEastport, ID | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| States | Arizona,California,Nevada,Oregon,Idaho | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
U.S. Route 95 (US 95) is a major north–southUnited States Highway in the western United States. It travels through the states ofArizona,California,Nevada,Oregon, andIdaho, staying inland from thePacific Coast. US 95 begins inSan Luis, Arizona, at theMexican border, where Calle 1—a shortspur—leads toHighway 2 inSan Luis Río Colorado,Sonora. Its northern terminus is at theCanadian border inEastport, Idaho, where the roadway continues north asBritish Columbia Highway 95.[2]
Unlike many other US Highways, it has not seen deletion or replacement on most of its length by an encroachingInterstate 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 fromMexico toCanada.
US 95 begins in the United States at theSan Luis Port of Entry, which connects it with Mexico. It then follows theColorado River northward toSan Luis and on toYuma, where it goes through town and crossesI-8. As it leaves Yuma, US 95 is an undivided two-lane highway that passes through theU.S. Army'sYuma Proving Ground.
It then travels northward between the proving ground to the west and the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge to the east untilQuartzsite. Here, it merges withI-10 and runsconcurrent, heading westward for 17 miles (27 km) until the Colorado River, where it enters California, just shy ofBlythe.
US 95 spends 123.16 miles (198.21 km) in Arizona.[3]
US 95 enters California at Blythe along its dual segment/concurrency withI-10. It travels largely parallel to the west bank of the Colorado River until it joinsI-40 inNeedles. The route then travels north fromGoffs to the Nevada state line.
The total distance in California is about 130 miles (210 km).
US 95 in Nevada is a divided highway betweenCal-Nev-Ari (theSR 163 junction toLaughlin) andBoulder 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 pastSR 173 and as part of theconcurrent route ofI-11 andUS 93 in Boulder City. It crossesI-15 at theSpaghetti Bowl, where US 93 becomes concurrent with I-15. US 95 continues as a freeway until again becoming a divided highway at Corn Creek Road, where I-11 temporarily ends, northwest of theLas Vegas Valley.
Shortly after enteringNye County, US 95 becomes an undivided two-lane highway past theMercury interchange, as it meanders northwestward through the state, roughly paralleling the California state line. Along this route, it runs through theAmargosa Valley, servingBeatty before heading north intoGoldfield andTonopah. The highway is concurrent withUS 6 for several miles north of Tonopah, before it then heads north towardsHawthorne,Schurz (where it meetsUS 95 ALT, which heads northwest towardYerington,Carson City—via US 50 west—Reno—via Ramsey Weeks Cutoff, US 50 east, SR 439 north, and I-80 west—andFernley) andFallon. North of Fallon, it meets and runs concurrently withI-80 for 93 miles (150 km), from Exit 83 west ofLovelock to Exit 176 atWinnemucca. It then heads north to the border withOregon atMcDermitt, a distance of 73 miles (120 km).
In Oregon, US 95 is an undivided two-lane highway in the sparsely-populated high desert in thesoutheastern corner of the state, running completely in ruralMalheur County. From the Nevada state line atMcDermitt, the highway heads north and gradually climbs to its crest at Blue Mountain Pass, at anelevation of 5,293 feet (1,613 m)above sea level. US 95 descends to Basque Station andBurns Junction at 3,960 feet (1,210 m), then eastward down toRome (3,390 ft [1,030 m]) and up toJordan Valley (4,389 ft [1,338 m]). The highway heads north-northeastward to theIdaho state line, entering southwest ofMarsing inOwyhee 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]
US 95 is designated theI.O.N. Highway No. 456 (seeOregon highways and routes); "I.O.N." stands for Idaho–Oregon–Nevada. This section of highway is a primary commercial route betweenBoise and northernCalifornia, connecting toI-80 atWinnemucca,Nevada. US 95 crosses into theMountain Time Zone approximately 35 miles (56 km) north ofNevada.
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 inOwyhee County, about 50 miles (80 km) southwest ofBoise. It passes throughHomedale and crosses theSnake River before a junction with concurrentUS 20 andUS 26, which run together for eight miles (13 km). As it proceeds north, US 95 crossesI-84 andUS 30 before going through thePayette National Forest. Immediately afterRiggins, the highway re-enters thePacific Time Zone as it crosses theSalmon River. US 95 follows the descending river, then climbs overWhite Bird Hill to theCamas Prairie, then descends the Lapwai Canyon to theClearwater River. In August 2015, milepost 420 was replaced with one reading 419.9 to prevent the sign from being stolen bymarijuana enthusiasts.[5]
US 95 becomes a four-lane divided highway after crossing the river east ofLewiston; it runs concurrent withUS 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 rollingPalouse. At a junction withUS 195, US 95 proceeds north toMoscow as a recently completed divided highway. It becomes an undivided highway in Moscow and continues north toCoeur d'Alene, crossingI-90. US 95 goes north toSandpoint, where it joins withUS 2, after which the highways run concurrent until afterBonners Ferry, where US 2 heads east toMontana, and US 95 continues north toCanada, meetingBC 95 at theCanadian border, at theEastport-Kingsgate Border Crossing.
US 95 was one of the originalU.S. highways proposed in the 1925 Bureau of Public Roads numbering plan. Under the original proposal, the highway would only exist inIdaho, fromPayette to the Canada–US border north ofEastport.[6] When the plan was adopted by theAmerican Association of State Highway Transportation Officials on November 11, 1926, the route of US 95 had been approved south toWeiser, still existing solely in Idaho.[7] A proposal to extend US 95 south toWinnemucca,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 toBlythe,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, throughYuma to theMexican border inSan Luis, which still serves as the southern terminus of US 95.[7]
North ofLewiston, Idaho, US 95 entered Washington for 0.91 miles (1.46 km), partially concurrent withU.S. Route 195.[8][9] The route was moved to a new four-lane divided highway that bypassedWashington in October 1977.[10] The section was replaced by an extension of US 195 and aspur route created in 1979.[11]
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 withOregon in remoteOwyhee County. The contract for the project was awarded toWashington Group International andCH2M 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 remoteOwyhee 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 theCoeur 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 toWorley, 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 theCoeur 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 ofLewiston to 6 miles (10 km) south ofMoscow.
.svg)
US 95 is part of a proposed northwestward extension ofInterstate 11 (I-11) from Las Vegas. The interstate highway would primarily follow the US 95 corridor through central and northwestern Nevada, extending toI-80 nearReno andSparks viaTonopah. In 2018, theNevada 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]
I-8 inYuma
I-10 inQuartzsite. The highways travel concurrently toBlythe, California.
I-40 inNeedles. The highways travel concurrently to west-northwest of Needles.
I-11 /US 93 inBoulder City. The highways travel concurrently toLas Vegas.
I-215 inHendersonI-11 /US 93 in Henderson. The highways travel concurrently to Las Vegas.
I-15 /US 93 in Las Vegas
US 6 inTonopah. The highways travel concurrently toCoaldale.
US 50 inFallon. The highways travel concurrently through Fallon.
I-80 south-southwest ofLovelock. The highways travel concurrently toWinnemucca.
US 20 /US 26 southeast ofParma. The highways travel concurrently to north-northeast of Parma.
I-84 south ofFruitland
US 30 south of Fruitland. The highways travel concurrently to Fruitland.
US 12 west ofSpalding. The highways travel concurrently toLewiston.
US 195 north-northwest of Lewiston
I-90 inCoeur d'Alene
US 2 inSandpoint. The highways travel concurrently to north-northeast ofBonners Ferry.Highway 95 at theCanada–US border inEastport
| Browse numbered routes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
← SR 93 | AZ | → SR 95 | ||
← OR 86 | OR | → US 97 | ||
Routes initalics are no longer a part of the system. Highlighted routes are considered main routes of the system. |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
