U.S. Route 50, Nevada (Loneliest Road in America), America

U.S. Route 50 is a transcontinental highway in the United States, stretching from West Sacramento, California, in the west to Ocean City, Maryland, on the east coast. The Nevada portion crosses the center of the state and was named The Loneliest Road in America by Life magazine in July 1986. The name was intended as a pejorative, but Nevada officials seized it as a marketing slogan. The name originates from large desolate areas traversed by the route, with few or no signs of civilization. The highway crosses several large desert valleys separated by numerous mountain ranges towering over the valley floors, in what is known as the Basin and Range province of the Great Basin.

US 50 has a diverse route through the state, traversing the resort communities of Lake Tahoe, the state capital in Carson City, historical sites such as Fort Churchill State Historic Park, petroglyphs, alpine forests, desert valleys, ghost towns, and Great Basin National Park. The route was constructed over a historic corridor, initially used for the Pony Express and Central Overland Route and later for the Lincoln Highway. Before the formation of the U.S. Highway System, most of US 50 in Nevada was designated State Route 2. The routing east of Ely has changed significantly from the original plans. The route change resulted from a rivalry between Nevada and Utah over which transcontinental route was better to serve California-bound traffic, the Lincoln Highway or the Victory Highway. 

US 50 crosses the central portion of Nevada, entering the west side of the state near Lake Tahoe and exiting the east side near Great Basin National Park. The route crosses mostly desolate terrain in its journey across the state; US 50 passes through several large desert valleys and basins. The highway crosses 17 named mountain passes that break up the Nevada desert. To crest some of the passes along US 50 requires navigating steep 8% grades and hairpin turns through pine forests to reach elevations of over 7,000 feet (2,100 m).

In the stretch of highway between Fallon and Delta, Utah, a span of 409 miles (658 km), there are three small towns, Austin, Eureka, and Ely. This span is roughly the same distance as Boston, Massachusetts, to Baltimore, Maryland, or Paris, France, to Zürich, Switzerland. Traffic along US 50 varies greatly. The average annual daily traffic in 2007 ranged from 52,000 vehicles per day in Carson City, to 530 vehicles per day near the Duckwater turnoff.

In addition to portions being designated the Loneliest Road and Lincoln Highway, the portion concurrent with Interstate 580 in Carson City is designated the Carson City Deputy Sheriff Carl Howell Memorial Freeway in honor of a sheriff's officer who was shot to death while attempting to rescue a victim of domestic violence from her house.

 

In July 1986, Life magazine published an article that gave US 50 in Nevada the name "The Loneliest Road in America". The article portrayed the highway, and rural Nevada, as a place devoid of civilization. Officials from White Pine County decided to make the best of the publicity generated from the article, and convinced state authorities to do the same. Jointly, they began to use the pejorative article as a platform to market the area for visitors interested in desert scenery, history, and solitude. The Nevada Department of Transportation adopted the name in official highway logs, and placed custom Highway 50 markers along the route.

The Nevada Commission on Tourism sponsors a promotion where visitors can stop at several designated locations along the route and have the passport section of a state issued "survival guide" marked with a stamp representing that location. Visitors can mail in the completed passport and receive a certificate, signed by the Governor, certifying they survived The Loneliest Road in America. The word "survived" is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Life article, which quoted an American Automobile Association spokesperson as saying, "We warn all motorists not to drive there unless they're confident of their survival skills. Since the article was published, US 50 has gained popularity among people desiring a scenic or less traveled alternative to Interstate 80 across Nevada. This increase in popularity has caused at least one writer to dispute whether US 50 still deserves the title of The Loneliest Road in America.Traffic counts on US 50 are now considerably higher than on US 6, just to the south in Nye County.

The 1971 road movie Vanishing Point, notable for its on-location filming across the southwest United States, used several sections of US 50 as part of the driving sequences. In 1991, Stephen King drove along US 50 as part of a cross country trip. He stopped at Ruth, a small town near Ely. Studying the town, King fantasized about the fate of the residents. King then heard a local legend about how the ghosts of Chinese miners, who died while trapped in a cave-in, can be seen crossing Highway 50 to haunt the city of Ruth. King merged these details into his own story, including references to The Loneliest Road in America, which became the novel Desperation.

In 2002, Neil Peart, then taking a sabbatical from Rush, published Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road, his account of a long-distance motorcycle journey across Canada and the United States. He traveled across US 50 in Nevada, and remarked on the complete absence of any development on long stretches of the road, including a sign reading "No Services for 88 Miles." In 2008, the British television show Top Gear featured the show's presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May driving across Nevada along US 50 in the cars of their choice. Clarkson stated he was "mesmerised by the straightness of the road.

For more information - U.S. Route 50 in Nevada