Interstate 80 in Nevada

Truckee River is visible on the lower right. I-80 enters Nevada in the canyon of the Truckee River, paralleling the California Trail and first transcontinental railroad. Upon exiting the canyon, the freeway serves the Truckee Meadows, a name for the urban area consisting of Verdi, Reno, and Sparks. The freeway passes north of downtown Reno in a depressed alignment before intersecting I-580/US 395. The interchange with US 395 is the busiest portion, averaging 122,000 vehicles per day in 2006. The freeway passes through downtown Sparks via a viaduct over the casino floor of the Nugget Casino Resort. After leaving the Reno metropolitan area, the freeway resumes following the Truckee River in a canyon to Fernley and passes the Northern Nevada Veterans Cemetery to the north. Traffic volumes drop to 26,600 vehicles per day by Fernley and continue dropping to 8,400 by the time the freeway reaches the center of the state. Between eastern Fernley and Winnemucca, the speed limit was raised from in 2017. Humboldt River For the next , I-80 follows the Humboldt River. Along the way, the freeway passes through the towns of Lovelock, Winnemucca, Battle Mountain, Carlin, Elko, and Wells. At Winnemucca, I-80 is joined by the Feather River Route; I-80 runs parallel to this railroad until the Utah state line. Eastern Nevada from west|alt=gantry sign stating "Exit 410—US-93 Alt—West Wendover—Ely" as a freeway descends into a town with salt flats in the background. After Wells, I-80 departs the Humboldt River, first transcontinental railroad, and California Trail. From this point east, the freeway follows the routes of the Hastings Cutoff, Feather River Route, former US 40, and SR 1. The freeway cuts across two mountain ranges before arriving at the Great Salt Lake Desert. The first is the Pequop Mountains via Pequop Summit, elevation —the highest point on I-80 in Nevada—and the second is the Toano Range via Silver Zone Pass at . After crossing these mountains, the freeway arrives at West Wendover where the freeway enters both Utah and the Great Salt Lake Desert at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Overlaps Portions of I-80 run concurrently with three US Routes in Nevada: • US 95 Alternate (US 95 Alt), which runs concurrently with I-80 between Fernley and Trinity Junction near Lovelock. • US 95, which runs concurrently with I-80 between Trinity Junction and Winnemucca. • US 93 Alt, which runs concurrently with I-80 between the cities of Wells and West Wendover. ==History==

California Trail The general route of I-80 was first used by California-bound travelers and was called the California Trail. From the Utah state line west to the Humboldt River, I-80 follows a modified routing of a lesser used branch of the trail called Hastings Cutoff. The cutoff rejoins the main route of the trail in the Humboldt River canyon. Through this portion of Nevada, the main route of the California Trail ran north of modern SR 233. From Elko west to Lovelock, I-80 faithfully follows the California Trail. West of Lovelock, in the middle of the Humboldt Sink, the California Trail again splits into two branches. These branches, the Carson River route and the Truckee River route, are named for the waterways that guide each branch up the Sierra Nevada. I-80 follows the Truckee route, the Carson route is approximated by US 95, US 50, US 395, and SR 88/California State Route 88. The 1976 edition of the official highway map for Nevada was the first not showing the US 40 designation. The last piece of I-80 in Nevada to be finished was the Lovelock bypass which started construction in 1981. The 1982 Official Nevada Highway Map was the first to note I-80 as a contiguous freeway across the state. All of the business loops for I-80 in Nevada use the historical route of US 40. I-80 is also known in Nevada as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway after the former president of the same name and the Purple Heart Trail after such military decoration. ==Future==

There are plans to widen I-80 to three lanes in both directions from Vista Boulevard and Greg Street to SR 439 south (USA Parkway). This is due to the increase in traffic travelling between Reno and Sparks to the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center built up on USA Parkway, thousands of people traverse I-80 through the Truckee River Canyon every day and that section is still 2 lanes in each direction and accidents on this stretch of Interstate have risen tremendously since the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center has opened. ==Exit list==