Interstate 515 Nevada
Overview
Interstate 515 overlays the Las Vegas Expressway / Oran K. Gragson Freeway south from I-15 and Downtown Las Vegas to Henderson. U.S. 93 and U.S. 95 accompany the commuter route from I-11 and I-215 (Bruce Woodbury Beltway) northward on the Henderson bypass to the Spaghetti Bowl interchange with Interstate 15. The Oran K. Gragson Freeway continues west toward Summerlin and north to Centennial in Las Vegas as U.S. 95.
Traffic reporters in Las Vegas generally refer to the Interstate 515 freeway as U.S. 95, and many business maps, such as those found in newspaper advertisements, erroneously show this road as Interstate 95. I-515 uses the mileposts for U.S. 95, so the exit numbers reference the distance from the California border, south of Searchlight.
Formally established by Congress in 2012, the Interstate 11 corridor joining the Phoenix and Las Vegas areas overlays U.S. 93 northwest from the Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge by Hoover Dam to the Boulder City Bypass, which fully opened by October 2018. I-11 was completed northwest from U.S. 95 to Foothills Drive in Henderson on January 27, 2018. Sign changes already renumbered the southernmost extent of I-515 as I-11 following the opening of the new southbound lanes at Railroad Pass on August 15, 2017. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approved the establishment of Interstate 11 from the Arizona state line to I-215 on May 29, 2014.
The continuation of Interstate 11 north from Henderson may overlay the remainder of I-515 to I-15 by Downtown Las Vegas. Alternatively the corridor may use the Bruce Woodbury Beltway (I-215) west or a new terrain alignment around Henderson and Nellis Air Force Base to I-15 northeast of Las Vegas.
Route Information
North End – Las Vegas, NV
South End – Henderson, NV
Mileage – 14.444 (20.54*)
Cities – Las Vegas, Henderson
- Junctions –
Source: 2020 State Maintained Highways of Nevada, Descriptions and Maps (NDOT)
* – December 31, 2018 Interstate Route Log and Finders List
I-515 Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT)
Source: 2019 AADT Traffic Records Information Access (TRINA) – Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT)
History
Interstate 515 was first established by AASHTO on July 13, 1976 for a short stretch of the Las Vegas Expressway (U.S. 95) linking I-15 east with U.S. 93 (Las Vegas Boulevard) at Downtown. The route was however not signed, and remained on paper only as the Las Vegas Expressway was lengthened further south toward Henderson. Signs were observed for Interstate 515 and the Oran K. Gragson Expressway by site contributor Cary Todd in 1993. The Henderson bypass portion of I-515 was finished in 1995.
Highway Guides
North End
– Las Vegas, Nevada
West
North at
South at
North at
South at
North End Throwback
South at
North at
Southern End
– Henderson, Nevada
South at
East at
Former South End –
– Henderson, Nevada
I-515 concluded just ahead of the Paradise Hills Drive underpass. U.S. 93/95 used to downgrade into an at-grade highway, but 2017 construction of I-11 upgraded the southbound roadway into limited access standards to Railroad Pass Hotel & Casino. I-11 opened from Railroad Pass east to a new parclo interchange with U.S. 95 south to Searchlight on August 15, 2017. 07/21/17
Page updated November 11, 2020.