U.S. Route 91 in Nevada

Infobox U.S. Route
article_route=91
length_mi=129.5
length_round=1
length_ref=cite map | publisher = State of Nevada Department of Highways | title = Highway Map of the State of Nevada | year=1929]
(1929 length)
yrcom=1926
yrdcom=1974
direction_a=south
from=California state line at Primm
direction_b=north
to=Arizona State line at Mesquite

US Route 91 was a major highway in the pre-Interstate freeway era. It ran 1,468 miles from the Canadian border at Sweetgrass, MT to Long Beach, CA. In Nevada, it existed from 1927 until 1974 and was routed along the present-day Interstate 15 corridor from Primm at the California border to Mesquite at the Arizona border via Las Vegas. It was made redundant by the completion of I-15 in Nevada and decommissioned in 1974. US 91 now runs only 163 miles in Idaho and Utah. cite web | last = Droz | first = Robert V. | title = U.S. Highways from U.S. 1 to (U.S. 830) | publisher = us-highways.com | date = 2007 | url = http://www.us-highways.com/us1830.htm| accessdate = 2008-01-23]

Route description

US 91 entered Nevada at Primm and followed present-day Las Vegas Blvd. to Las Vegas. In the city of Las Vegas, it followed Fifth St. (now Las Vegas Blvd.), Main St., and Salt Lake Highway (also now Las Vegas Blvd. and SR 604). Leaving Las Vegas to the north, the highway crossed I-15 at present-day exit 58 and continued northwest through Apex towards Glendale. Between a point approximately 7 miles northwest of exit 64 and exit 112, US 91 has been paved over by I-15 or abandoned except for a very short section in Glendale. (Sections of abandoned highway can periodically be seen from northbound I-15 along the right side of the road.) The highway then followed present-day SR 170 to Mesquite. In Mesquite, it was routed on Mesquite Blvd., Sandhill Blvd., and Fairview Ave. to the Arizona state line.

History

Dates are based on when changes appear on official Nevada state highway maps unless otherwise noted.

US 91 was part of the original 1925 US highway system plan. cite web | last = Droz | first = Robert V. | title = 1925 US Highway Plan | publisher = us-highways.com | date = 2007 | url =http://www.us-highways.com/1925bpr.htm | accessdate = 2008-01-23] It was to be routed southwest from Mesquite along the future I-15 corridor to Las Vegas. In downtown Las Vegas, it would turn southeast along present-day US 95 to California via Searchlight. The updated 1926 highway plan adopted the routing that was actually used, continuing southwest from Las Vegas along the future I-15 corridor. cite web | last = Droz | first = Robert V. | title = US Highways in 1927 | publisher = us-highways.com | date = 2007 | url =http://www.us-highways.com/1927us.htm | accessdate = 2008-01-23] The official 1927 Nevada state highway map reflects the routing in the 1926 plan. However, a few maps from this era show the unused route from the 1925 plan. cite map | publisher =Rand McNally and Co. | title = Rand McNally Junior Auto Map | year=1927]

In its early days, the road was also known as the Arrowhead Trail.

In 1929, Nevada commissioned SR 6 and routed it concurrently with US 91. That was not unusual at the time, as the state also concurrently routed other state highways along major US-numbered routes.

US 466, a spur of the famous U.S. Route 66, was commissioned in 1934 and was concurrently routed with US 91/SR 6 between the California state line and downtown Las Vegas. It was decommissioned in Nevada in 1971.

Around 1939, US 93 was extended south from its previous terminus at Glendale to Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam). The section from Glendale to downtown Las Vegas is concurrently routed with US 91. The concurrent routing of SR 6 is deleted from official state highway maps at this time.

A new alignment was completed west of Mesquite in 1955. This followed the future I-15 alignment and replaced the previous route through Bunkerville The original alignment is now SR 170.

In 1960, the first section of I-15 opened from Primm to just south of SR 41 (present-day St. Rose Parkway, SR 146) near Las Vegas. As I-15 is extended through Las Vegas over the years, US 91 remains on Las Vegas Blvd. rather than being moved onto the new freeway. North of Las Vegas, US 91 is moved onto the new freeway as it is completed. The final sections of I-15 were opened in 1974, making US 91 redundant and resulting in it being decommissioned in Nevada. cite web | last = Droz | first = Robert V. | title = U.S. Highways from U.S. 1 to (U.S. 830) | publisher = us-highways.com | date = 2007 | url = http://www.us-highways.com/us1830.htm| accessdate = 2008-01-23]

References