Nevada State Route 160

State Route 160 (SR 160) is a state highway in southern Nevada, United States. It connects the southern Las Vegas Valley to U.S. Route 95 (US 95) northwest of the city via the Pahrump Valley. The southern part of the route sees heavy traffic, mostly due to Pahrump's continued growth as a Las Vegas bedroom community.

State Route 160
Blue Diamond Road
Pahrump Valley Highway
State Route 160, highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NDOT
Length80.326 mi[1] (129.272 km)
Existed1976–present
Major junctions
Southeast endLas Vegas Boulevard in Enterprise
  I-15 in Enterprise
Northwest end US 95 north of Pahrump
Location
CountiesClark, Nye
Highway system
  • Highways in Nevada
← SR 159→ SR 161

The route is known as Blue Diamond Road within the Las Vegas area, with the remainder referred to as the Pahrump Valley Highway.

The route was originally part of State Route 16 prior to 1978.

Route description
View from the north end of SR 160 looking southbound

State Route 160 begins in the southern Las Vegas metro area at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard (former SR 604) and East Windmill Lane. It runs west-southwest towards the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and over Mountain Springs Summit (elevation 5,502 feet (1,677 m)) before turning northwest towards Pahrump. Outside of Pahrump, SR 160 heads more north-northwest to reach its western terminus at US 95.

History
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area from SR 160, west of Blue Diamond in 2011
SR 160 between Las Vegas and Mountain Springs in 2008
SR 160 as divided highway between Mountain Springs and Pahrump in 2008

SR 160 was originally part of SR 16 from Pahrump north to US 95. SR 16 was one of Nevada's original state highways dating back to the 1920s.[2] It began at the Nevada–California border in an area of Pahrump Valley[3] near Cathedral Canyon, part of the historic Hidden Hills Ranch south of Pahrump, traveling north to Pahrump over Hidden Hills Ranch Road.[4] From there, it continued north over present-day SSR 160 to meet SR 5,[5] which was absorbed into and redesignated US 95 on January 1, 1940.

By 1976, the section from Pahrump to US 95 was designated as part of the newly-created SR 160. The section from the California border to Pahrump remained as SR 16 until it was removed by 1982[6] and is now designated Old Route 16.[7] However, satellite imagery indicates the former highway remains almost entirely unpaved[4] and even passes through the runway of an old airstrip built in 1941 by Ronald Wiley, former owner of Hidden Hills Ranch and namesake of the Ronald H. Wiley Archaeological Preserve.[8][9]

In 2007, SR 160 was realigned slightly over I-15 in southern Las Vegas. The highway was moved a short distance to the south between Valley View Boulevard and Las Vegas Boulevard, realigning the southeastern terminus with East Windmill Lane at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard. The project also reconstructed the ramps of the aging interchange, allowing for better traffic flow to and from I-15. The unused section of roadway is still visible.

A section of SR 160 between Las Vegas and Pahrump was closed on the weekend of November 4–5, 2017, for the attempt of a world record for the fastest production car. The Koenigsegg Agera RS broke the record at 284.55 miles per hour (457.94 km/h), surpassing the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.[10] The same section of SR 160 was closed again on October 10, 2020 for another attempt of a world record for fastest production car, this time for the SSC Tuatara. Despite claims that the SSC Tuatara broke the record, the accuracy of this was subsequently challenged by various independent analysts.[11][12] The highway is the only place on Earth other than the Ehra-Lessien Volkswagen Group testing facility where cars capable of reaching 300 miles an hour can reach their max speed.

Major intersections
Note: Mileposts in Nevada reset at county lines; the start and end mileposts for each county are given in the county column.
CountyLocationmi[13]kmDestinationsNotes
Clark
0.000–43.293		Enterprise0.0000.000Las Vegas BoulevardSoutheastern terminus; former SR 604/US 91/US 466;
begin Blue Diamond Road – end Windmill Lane
0.4900.789 I-15 to I-215 east / CC 215 west – Los Angeles, Salt Lake CityInterchange
Decatur Boulevard
4.3336.973Rainbow BoulevardFormer SR 595 north
Blue Diamond11.00517.711 SR 159 east (Blue Diamond Road) / Erskine Junction Way – Blue Diamond, Red RockBegin Pahrump Valley Highway
​3658Tecopa Road / Old Spanish Trail Highway – TecopaFormer Old Spanish Trail alignment[14]
Nye
0.000–37.032		Pahrump53.03685.353 SR 372 west (Charles Brown Highway) / Crawford Way – Shoshone, Death Valley
Bell Vista Avenue – Death Valley To SR 127 / SR 190 west
​80.325129.271 US 95 – Las Vegas, Tonopah, RenoNorthwestern terminus; end Pahrump Valley Highway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also
  •  United States portal
  •  U.S. Roads portal

References
  1. Nevada Department of Transportation (January 2017). "State Maintained Highways of Nevada: Descriptions and Maps". Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  2. Nevada Department of Highways (1929). Highway Map, State of Nevada (Map). Nevada Department of Highways. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  3. Nevada Department of Highways (October 10, 1938). 1937 Base Map, Zone 1, Clark County, Nevada (Map). Nevada Department of Highways. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  4. Google (February 5, 2020). "Hidden Hills Ranch Rd/State Hwy 16" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  5. Nevada Department of Highways (July 2, 1940). 1939 General Highway Map, Zone 8, Nye County, Nevada (Map). Nevada Department of Highways. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  6. Nevada State Highway Department (1978). Official Highway Map of Nevada (Map) (1978–1979 ed.). Nevada State Highway Department.
  7. Nevada Department of Transportation (June 2016). "General Highway Map, Zone 8, Nye County, Nevada". Nevada Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  8. McCracken, Bob (April 22, 2016). "One man's vision reduced to ruins". Pahrump Valley Times. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  9. "Roland H. Wiley Preserve (Nevada)". The Archaeological Conservancy. February 9, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  10. Lacanlale, Rio (November 5, 2017). "New speed record set on highway between Las Vegas, Pahrump". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  11. Gardner, Daniel (October 29, 2020). "SSC Tuatara speed record under scrutiny". Which Car. Australia. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  12. Did the SSC Tuatara REALLY Set a 331mph World Record?. October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020 – via YouTube.
  13. State Maintained Highways of Nevada: Descriptions and Maps (PDF). Nevada Department of Transportation. January 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-05-10. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
  14. "Routes from Las Vegas, Death Valley National Park" (PDF). National Park Service. July 2007. Retrieved July 5, 2014. The "most scenic route" from Las Vegas to Death Valley includes driving on "Tecopa Road (Old Spanish Trail)."

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