U.S. Route 395
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| U.S. Route 395 |
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| Length: | 1305 mi (2100 km) | ||||||||||||
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| Formed: | 1926 | ||||||||||||
| South end: |  I-15 in Hesperia, CA |
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| Major junctions: |
 US 6 in Bishop, CA US 50 in Carson City, NV I-80 in Reno, NV US 20 in Burns, OR  I-84/US 30 in Pendleton, OR I-82 in Tri-Cities, WA  I-90/US 2 in Spokane, WA |
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| North end: | BC 395 at US-Canada border near Laurier, WA | ||||||||||||
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U.S. Route 395 is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canadian border near Laurier, where the road becomes Highway 395 upon entering British Columbia. At one time, the route extended south to San Diego.
The route runs through the U.S. states of California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. US 395 runs along the east side of the Sierra Nevada in the Owens Valley and crosses through the Modoc Plateau along its routing.
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[edit] Route description
| Major cities |
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[edit] California
US-395 begins in Hesperia, California at the junction with Interstate 15. It intersects State Route 18 near Adelanto, California. Then, it intersects State Route 58 at a small town known as Kramer Junction, California. The highway continues along the Sierra Nevada towards Bishop, California, where it meets State Route 168. Going through the town of Bishop, US 395 meets U.S. Highway 6.
From Bishop to Topaz Lake US 395 is designated a scenic highway by the state legislature.
The highway exits California to serve the Reno, Nevada metropolitan area but then returns. This northern piece also follows the Sierra Nevada. It passes through the towns of Susanville and Alturas, also serves several points of interest along this portion, such as the Hallelujah Junction, Honey Lake, and the Modoc Plateau.
[edit] Nevada
U.S. 395 in Nevada is a major highway, the majority of which is now or is scheduled to be upgraded to Interstate Highway standards. The portion from Carson City to Reno is also designated as Interstate 580 but is not signed as such, except on mile markers (US 395 mile markers can be seen alongside Virginia Street from Lemmon Valley to Mount Rose Highway). The highway follows the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada from state line to state line.
U.S. 395 enters Nevada at Topaz Lake then descends to Carson Valley where it becomes the main streets of Gardnerville, Minden and Carson City. In Reno the highway is designated the Martin Luther King, Jr. Freeway. The highway returns to California just north of Reno at Bordertown. Points of interest along the highway include:
- Topaz Lake
- Jobs Peak (in California, but only viewable from the highway in Nevada)
- Carson River
- Carson Valley
- Eagle Valley, the valley where Carson City resides.
- Washoe Valley
- Washoe Lake
- Slide Mountain
- Mount Rose
- White Lake, a dry lake just east of the freeway.
[edit] Oregon
US 395 enters Oregon at New Pine Creek, then heads north to Lakeview. At Lakeview, it overlaps Oregon Route 140 for five miles, then continues to north to Valley Falls. At Valley Falls, it turns northeast through Wagontire to Riley. Near Riley, US 395 overlaps US 20 through Hines and Burns. Approximately two miles northeast of Burns, US 395 turns north through Seneca and Canyon City to John Day. At John Day, it overlaps US 26 and heads west to Mount Vernon. At Mount Vernon, US 395 turns north through Long Creek and Pilot Rock to Pendleton. At Pendleton, it overlaps Interstate 84 and US 30 west to Stanfield. At Stanfield, US 395 turns north through Hermiston to Umatilla. East of Umatilla, it overlaps US 730 and heads west to Interstate 82. It then overlaps I-82 to the Washington state line at the Columbia River.
[edit] Oregon highway designations
The Oregon section of US 395 is composed of the following named highways (see Oregon highways and routes), from south to north:
- Part of the Fremont Highway No. 19 (including the section concurrent with OR 140);
- Part of the Central Oregon Highway No. 7 (concurrent with US 20);
- The John Day-Burns Highway No. 48;
- Part of the John Day Highway No. 5 (concurrent with US 26);
- Part of the Pendleton-John Day Highway No. 28;
- Part of the Old Oregon Trail No. 6 (concurrent with I-84 and US 30);
- The Umatilla-Stanfield Highway No. 54;
- Part of the Columbia River Highway No. 2 (concurrent with US 730); and
- Part of the McNary Highway No. 70 (concurrent with I-82).
[edit] Washington
US-395 enters Washington with I-82 over the Columbia River. At exit 113, US 395 splits from I-82, entering the Tri-Cities area. After departing the freeway, it passes residential areas south of Kennewick. After that there is a stoplight at 27th Avenue. The next major intersection is at 10th next to Fred Meyer, then at West Kennewick Avenue, followed by the intersections at West Clearwater Avenue and North Yelm Street, then heads toward the Columbia River. It then passes over the Columbia River as the Blue Bridge with a view of the Cable Bridge (WA-397) to the east as it proceeds toward I-182/US-12. The Blue Bridge has often traffic backups, especally during rush hour. US 395 joins I-182 for a short distance to Pasco, where it separates from the freeway. Past I-182, it passes the Tri-Cities Airport before resuming a north/south direction at the Oregon Avenue interchange. Outside of Pasco, US 395 crosses through farmland and little towns until it combines with I-90 at the town of Ritzville. From there it goes to Spokane (US-2 merges into I-90/US-395 as they enter the city) and splits from I-90 at the Division Street exit.
US 395 currently runs north on Division Street to travel through Spokane. WSDOT is constructing the US 395 North Spokane Corridor, which is a completely new freeway that will run from I-90 (around the Thor/Freya exit) northward to the existing US 395 north of Wandermere. Construction on the new freeway began between Wandermere and Francis in 2003. The freeway will take many years to complete due to funding.
US-395 (along with US-2) proceed north through Spokane as Division Street to the north edge of the city where they split (US-2 heading Northeast to Idaho). US-395 then proceeds north to the Canadian border.
Legally, the Washington section of US-395, with the exception of concurrencies with Interstate 82, Interstate 182 and with Interstate 90 and U.S. 2, is defined at Washington Revised Code § 47.17.575.[1]
[edit] History
US Highway 395 once extended to downtown San Diego. This part of the highway is now the alignments of Interstate 15 from Hesperia to Devore and Interstate 215 from Devore to Temecula where it meets Interstate 15 again. From Temecula the old route follows Interstate 15 again to east of Fallbrook where the original US 395 still exists as a frontage road. "Old US 395" can be followed from north of State Route 76 through Escondido where it meets Interstate 15 again. Finally, State Route 163, the old routing of US 395, splits off Interstate 15 at the south end of Miramar and follows the Cabrillo Freeway into downtown San Diego.
