Nevada State Route 159
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| State Route 159 |
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| Blue Diamond Road Red Rock Canyon Road Charleston Boulevard |
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| Length: | 31.003 mi[1] (49.894 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | 31 December 1991 | ||||||||
| West end: |  SR 160 near Blue Diamond |
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| Major junctions: |
CC-215 SR 595 SR 596 |
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| East end: |  SR 612 in Las Vegas |
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| Major cities: | Blue Diamond, Las Vegas | ||||||||
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State Route 159 is a 31.003 mile east-west highway in southern Nevada, primarily serving the Las Vegas area. A portion of the west end of the route is designated a Nevada Scenic Byway.
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[edit] Route description
State Route 159 has two distinct segments. The first segment is a rural two-lane highway that begins at its junction with SR 160. The highway proceeds northwest through the town of Blue Diamond towards Spring Mountain Ranch State Park. From there, the highway curves northeast around Red Rock Canyon to the Las Vegas city limits west of the Las Vegas Beltway. This segment of SR 159 is known on maps and signs as Blue Diamond Road (assuming the name from SR 160), but is also referred to as Red Rock Canyon Road. Approximately 8.8 miles of SR 159 near Red Rock Canyon was designated a Nevada Scenic Byway on June 30, 1995.[2]
As SR 159 enters the city of Las Vegas, it transitions into Charleston Boulevard, a major east-west section line arterial bisecting the Las Vegas Valley. The highway crosses the Las Vegas Beltway and runs through the planned community of Summerlin. SR 159 continues east to intersect Interstate 15 and then passes south of Downtown Las Vegas. From there, the highway ventures further east to intersect Interstate 515 and U.S. Routes 93 and 95 before reaching its terminus at Nellis Boulevard (SR 612). (Charleston Boulevard itself ends about three miles east of Nellis Boulevard near Sunrise Mountain.
[edit] History
A portion of Charleston Boulevard was previously designated Alternate US 95 to bypass downtown Las Vegas. The designation began at Fremont Street (SR 582) and continued west to Rancho Drive (SR 599), where it curved north to reconnect to US 95. The alternate route appears to have been discontinued by the 1980s.
A portion of SR 159 may also have been previously designated as State Route 587.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Nevada DOT. Nevada State Maintained Highways, Descriptions, Index and Maps, January 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
- ^ Nevada DOT. Nevada's Scenic Byways. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
