Interstate 80 westbound near the town of Fernley between Exits 48 and 46. Intersecting the freeway ahead is Business Loop Interstate 80 (Main Street) & Nevada 427 (Wadsworth Boulevard). Fernley was founded in 1905 in conjunction with the Newlands Reclamation Project. The town consisted of a small trade center and railroad outpost until the early 1960s. In modern times Fernley represents a bedroom community for the city Reno due to the direct high speed connection that Interstate 80 provides. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Nevada 427 loops 3.2 miles into Wadsworth between Exits 46 and 43. The state highway provides a connection to Nevada 447 (Gerlach Road) in downtown Wadsworth. Nevada 447 stems 74.689 miles north to Pyramid Lake, Gerlach, and Eagleville, California. Business Loop Interstate 80 loops east on Main Street into downtown Fernley and junction U.S. 50 & 95 Alternate from Exit 46 southward. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Interstate 80 crosses into Storey County between the two Wadsworth interchanges (Exits 46 & 43). The Virginia Mountains lie along the western horizon. Photo taken 09/09/05.
One mile east of the Exit 43 diamond interchange with Nevada 427 (Wadsworth Boulevard) southwest of Wadsworth. Nevada 427 ends at the forthcoming interchange. Cantlon Drive continues alongside Interstate 80 west into the Virginia Mountains. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Before Interstate 80 reaches Exit 43, the freeway crosses the Truckee River into Washoe County, the final county westbound travelers encounter within the state. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Westbound at the Exit 43 ramp departure to Nevada 427 (Wadsworth Boulevard) east and Cantlon Drive west. The next travel services lie 30 miles ahead within the city of Sparks. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Interstate 80 enters the 25-mile long stretch of freeway through Truckee River Canyon between Wadsworth and Sparks. A rest are resides just west of Exit 43 on the descent toward the Reno metropolitan area. The Central Pacific Railroad originally traversed the canyon in the 1800s. Construction began in 1919 for a highway route through the canyon of what would later become U.S. 40. U.S. 40 existed as an unpaved route in 1927, and a completed paved route by 1934. Interstate 80 road work commenced in the 1950s with completion by 1959 at a cost of $10 million. Photos taken 09/09/05.
A local road meets Interstate 80 at the Exit 40 diamond interchange near Painted Rock. The highway enters the scene from the north and ends at the Union Pacific Railroad along the south side of the freeway. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Exit 40 departs Interstate 80 westbound for Painted Rock. A frontage road loops east to Cantlon Drive near milepost 43. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Interstate 80 continues west a short distance to the Orchard (Exit 38) diamond interchange. Photo taken 09/09/05.
The Old Orchard interchange serves an isolated area of the Truckee River Canyon alongside the Union Pacific Railroad. A local road spurs south from the freeway. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Two more views of the Truckee River Canyon as seen from Interstate 80 westbound between Orchard and Derby Dam. The Union Pacific Railroad and the Truckee River continue parallel along the eastbound side of the freeway. Pond Peak (el. 8,010 ft) lies to the north. Photos taken 09/09/05.
Westbound at the Exit 36 diamond interchange for Derby Dam. Constructed in 1905 by the fledgling U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Derby Dam diverts water to the Truckee Canal, a 35-mile long waterway between Fernley and Lahontan Reservoir. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Additional views of the scenic Truckee River Canyon between Derby Dam and Tracy. Photos taken 09/09/05.
Drawing to within one mile of Clark Station Road (Exit 32) on Interstate 80 west. Clark Station Road spurs east from the freeway to the Tracy Station Power Plant. The plant, opened in 1963, produces energy from gas and oil. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Interstate 80 westbound at the Exit 32 trumpet interchange with Clark Station Road. Wunotoo Road intersects Clark Station Road just south of the freeway. Wunotoo Road travels west then south to Waltham Way. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Interstate 80 continues another 14 miles to Sparks and 17 miles to downtown Reno from Tracy and Clark Station. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Next in line for westbound travelers is the Patrick interchange of Exit 28. Meeting the freeway at Patrick is Nevada 655 (Waltham Way), a 1.1-mile long route between Interstate 80 and the Storey County Line to the south and east. Photos taken 09/09/05.
Exit 28 leaves Interstate 80 westbound for Nevada 665 (Waltham Way) and Patrick. Patrick derives its name from the nearby McCarran Ranch and Senator Patrick McCarran. A folded-diamond interchange facilitates the movements between Interstate 80, Waltham Way, and McCarran Ranch Road. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Interstate 80 passes through a large cut through McCarran Hill between Patrick and Mustang. 230 feet of the original hill were removed for the highway's construction. Photos taken 09/09/05.
The last Nevada check station, or weigh station, lies ahead of the Mustang interchange along Interstate 80 west. The station requires all commercial vehicles or vehicles carrying livestock to stop for inspection. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Continuing the descent toward Mustang and Exit 23 on Interstate 80 west. Mustang Ranch Road and westbound side frontage road tie into the freeway ahead. Mustang Ranch Road stems south as Mustang Road to Peri Ranch Ranch Road and the Storey County line. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Westbound at the Mustang area truck check station. Peavine Peak (el. 8,272 ft) rises in the background from northwest of Reno. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Interstate 80 westbound at the Exit 23 split-diamond interchange with Mustang Ranch Road and Interstate 80 Frontage Road. Mustang was home to the largest brothel in the state of Nevada, the Mustang Ranch. Storey County legalized prostitution in 1971, and thus became the home to Nevada's first brothel. The ranch lied across the Washoe County line (Truckee River) via Mustang Ranch Road south of Interstate 80. The Mustang Ranch went bankrupt in 1990 due to $15 million in back taxes but continued operations until 1999. At that time the IRS seized the property and handed it over to the Bureau of Land Management. The Bureau razed the structure in 2003. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Driving westward toward the settlement of Lockwood (Exit 22) on Interstate 80 west. Lockwood is home to a subdivision along the Truckee River and mobile home park on the adjacent hillside. Photo taken 09/09/05.
A trumpet interchange handles the movements between Lockwood Canyon Way and Interstate 80 at Exit 22. Canyon Road stems south of Lockwood into the adjacent hills toward the main landfill and garbage dump for western Nevada. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Interstate 80 leaves Lockwood and approaches the city of Sparks. Sparks was named after the fourth Nevada Governor and cattle baron John D. Sparks. Founded in the early 1900s by the Southern Pacific Railroad, Sparks originally consisted of a switching yard, maintenance plants, and several houses relocated from Wadsworth to the east. The town garnered 3,500 residents by 1906, all railroad employees, contractors, or their families. Sparks remained a railroad town until the 1950s when those operations shifted to Roseville, California. Nuggets casino opened in 1955 and began prospering in Sparks by 1960. Thus the shift of Sparks to an entertainment and employment center much like its neighbor Reno to the west commenced. Today the city skyline blends seamlessly with Reno to the west with the two municipalities competing for business. Photos taken 09/09/05.
Interstate 80 leaves the Truckee River Canyon and instantaneously enters the city of Sparks. The Union Pacific Railroad line descends from the mountains alongside the freeway as well. Exit 21 serves Greg Street west and Vista Boulevard north, two multi-lane divided surface arterials on the outskirts of town. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Westbound at the Exit 21 ramp departure for Vista Boulevard north and Greg Street west. Vista Boulevard travels north toward Prater Way, BAring Boulevard, and Wedekind. Greg Street parallels Interstate 80 west through Glendale to Rock Boulevard and Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Attached to the Greg Street / Vista Boulevard is the two-mile guide sign for McCarran Boulevard (Nevada 650). McCarran Boulevard constitutes a belt route around downtown Reno and Sparks. The surface arterial carries Nevada 650 6.380 miles north and west to junction U.S. 395. Exit 20 for Sparks Boulevard however represents the next departure point along Interstate 80 westbound. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Exit 20 departs Interstate 80 next for Sparks Boulevard. Sparks Boulevard travels north from Greg Street to junction Nevada 445 (Pyramid Lake Highway) and Highland Ranch Parkway north of the city. The highway comprises a multi-lane surface arterial between Greg Street and Shadow Lane (Shadow Mountain Park) north of Baring Boulevard. A Union Pacific Railroad spur travels over Interstate 80 westbound ahead of the Exit 20 off-ramp. Photo taken 09/09/05.
Interstate 80 East
Eastbound Interstate 80 leaving the Reno-Sparks area around Milepost 26. This picture shows Interstate 80 east of Reno. The landscape changes from the forests of the Truckee River Valley near Verdi into one of desert landscape, with large brown mountains in all directions. Rain and snowfall east of Reno is scant at best, but large snowstorms have been known to hit the desert all across Northern Nevada. Photo taken in 1998.
