Desert Inn Road
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2021) |
| Maintained by | Clark County |
|---|---|
| Length | 17.49 mi (28.15 km) |
| Location | Las Vegas Clark County |
| West end | Red Rock Ranch Road in Summerlin South |
| Major junctions |  SR 595 in Spring Valley
 SR 612 in Whitney |
| East end | Hollywood Boulevard in Whitney |
Desert Inn Road, also known as Wilbur Clark D. I. Road, is a major west-east road in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, Nevada, United States, part of the Las Vegas grid road system. It is named after the former Desert Inn hotel and casino.
Desert Inn Expressway
[edit]For the majority of its route, Desert Inn Road is a regular street with residential, commercial, and industrial areas along it, but it features a 2½ mile expressway portion in the Las Vegas Strip with grade separations and partial interchanges officially called the Desert Inn Road Super Arterial (also commonly referred to as the Desert Inn Expressway (DIE)), acting as a border for Paradise and Winchester. Construction of the expressway was completed in 1996 with a cost of US$84 million. It is primarily used as a Las Vegas Strip traffic avoidance route, passing over Interstate 15 and under Las Vegas Boulevard.[1][2]
Route
[edit]Desert Inn Road is disconnected from all freeways it crosses, with bridges over Clark County 215 (CC 215; Bruce Woodbury Beltway) and I-15 and is overpassed by I-11/US 93/US 95. It is also disconnected from Las Vegas Boulevard, with a tunnel passing under it, which makes it the only major east–west surface street on the Strip to not intersect with Las Vegas Boulevard.
Desert Inn Road begins in Summerlin South at Red Rock Ranch Road before crossing over CC 215 with no direct access and then crossing Hualapai Way and entering Las Vegas. The road crosses NV 595 (Rainbow Boulevard) and NV 596 (Jones Boulevard) and eventually crosses Valley View Boulevard where the Desert Inn Road Super Arterial expressway begins.
The Desert Inn Expressway begins with driveways and minor roads connecting to it before forming a partial interchange (eastbound exit, westbound entrance) at Rancho Drive. A right-in/right-out (RIRO) on the eastbound side connects the expressway to Highland Drive, Western Avenue, and Spring Mountain Road before the expressway crosses Highland Drive, the Union Pacific Railroad, and Sammy Davis Drive. The Desert Inn Expressway then lowers from the viaduct to pass through a tunnel under Las Vegas Boulevard where an eastbound entrance ramp leading from Wynn Boulevard connects. The expressway then crosses a signalized intersection with Paradise Road before it passes under the Las Vegas Monorail and Las Vegas Convention Center before terminating at the intersection with University Center Drive and Joe W. Brown Drive where Desert Inn Road continues east as a standard arterial road.
Eventually, Desert Inn Road passes under I-11/US 93/US 95 and then intersects NV 582 (Boulder Highway) where it continues north as Lamb Boulevard, creating a short gap in the route. Desert Inn Road restarts off Lamb Boulevard and continues east then crosses NV 612 (Nellis Boulevard). Near its eastern terminus, the road crosses a bridge over the Las Vegas Wash, which opened on September 19, 2022 and connected two dead-end segments of Desert Inn Road.[3]
Major intersections
[edit]The entire route is in Clark County.
| Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summerlin South | 0.00 | 0.00 | Red Rock Ranch Road | Western terminus of Desert Inn Road | |||
| 0.33– 0.39 | 0.53– 0.63 | Bridge over CC 215 | |||||
| 0.59 | 0.95 | Golden Willow Lane | Access to The Alexander Dawson School at Rainbow Mountain | ||||
| 0.93 | 1.50 | Town Center Drive | |||||
| Las Vegas–Spring Valley line | 1.46 | 2.35 | Hualapai Way | ||||
| 1.96 | 3.15 | Grand Canyon Drive | |||||
| 2.47 | 3.98 | Fort Apache Road | |||||
| 2.94 | 4.73 | Crystal Water Way | Southern terminus of Crystal Water Way | ||||
| 2.98 | 4.80 | El Capitan Way | Northern terminus of southern segment of El Capitan Way | ||||
| 3.48 | 5.60 | Durango Drive | Access to Desert Breeze Park | ||||
| Spring Valley | 3.98 | 6.41 | Cimarron Road | ||||
| 4.48 | 7.21 | Buffalo Drive | |||||
| 4.99 | 8.03 | Tenaya Way | |||||
| 5.49 | 8.84 | SR 595 (Rainbow Boulevard) | |||||
| 5.99 | 9.64 | Torrey Pines Drive | |||||
| 6.49 | 10.44 |  SR 596 (Jones Boulevard) | |||||
| 6.97 | 11.22 | Lindell Road | |||||
| Las Vegas–Paradise line | 7.44 | 11.97 | Decatur Boulevard | ||||
| 7.94 | 12.78 | Arville Street | |||||
| 8.44 | 13.58 | Valley View Boulevard | Western terminus of Desert Inn Expressway | ||||
| 8.63– 8.72 | 13.89– 14.03 | Rancho Drive | Interchange; westbound entrance and eastbound exit | ||||
| 8.93– 9.02 | 14.37– 14.52 | Bridge over Rancho Drive and I-15 | |||||
| 8.98– 9.09 | 14.45– 14.63 | Highland Drive | Interchange; eastbound exit and entrance | ||||
| Winchester–Paradise line | 8.93– 9.02 | 14.37– 14.52 | Bridge over Highland Drive, Union Pacific Railroad, and Sammy Davis Drive | ||||
| 9.79– 9.90 | 15.76– 15.93 | Tunnel under Las Vegas Boulevard | Desert Inn Road changes signing from West Desert Inn Road to East Desert Inn Road. | ||||
| 9.95 | 16.01 | Wynn Boulevard | Eastbound entrance | ||||
| 10.48 | 16.87 | Paradise Road | Access to Las Vegas Convention Center -Las Vegas Monorail | ||||
| 10.48– 10.98 | 16.87– 17.67 | Corridor under Las Vegas Convention Center | |||||
| 10.98 | 17.67 | Joe W. Brown Drive, University Center Drive | Eastern terminus of Desert Inn Expressway | ||||
| 11.23 | 18.07 | Cambridge Street | Cambridge Street terminus | ||||
| 11.48 | 18.48 |  Maryland Parkway | Access to Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center | ||||
| 11.62 | 18.70 | Onieda Way | |||||
| 11.75 | 18.91 | La Canada Street | |||||
| 12.51 | 20.13 | Eastern Avenue | |||||
| 12.75 | 20.52 | Topaz Road | |||||
| 13.00 | 20.92 | McLeod Drive | |||||
| 13.14– 13.16 | 21.15– 21.18 | Bridge over Flamingo Arroyo | |||||
| 13.25 | 21.32 | Mojave Road | |||||
| 13.50 | 21.73 | Pecos Road | |||||
| 14.00 | 22.53 | Sandhill Road | |||||
| 14.15– 14.18 | 22.77– 22.82 | Underpass under I-11/US 93/US 95 | |||||
| Sunrise Manor–Paradise line | 14.45 | 23.26 |  SR 582 (Boulder Highway) / Lamb Boulevard north | Desert Inn Road first western terminus, road continues north as Lamb Boulevard | |||
| Gap in route | |||||||
| 14.45 | 23.26 | Lamb Boulevard | Desert Inn Road second western terminus | ||||
| Whitney | 15.48 | 24.91 | SR 612 (Nellis Boulevard) | ||||
| 15.98 | 25.72 | Cabena Drive | |||||
| 17.21 | 27.70 | Bridge over the Las Vegas Wash | |||||
| 17.49 | 28.15 | Hollywood Boulevard | Desert Inn Road eastern terminus | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||||
Places along Desert Inn Road
[edit]The following are sorted by west-east location along Desert Inn Road.
- The Alexander Dawson School at Rainbow Mountain
- Desert Breeze Park (access via Durango Drive)[4]
- Trump International Hotel Las Vegas (no direct access from Desert Inn Road)
- Resorts World Las Vegas (no direct access from Desert Inn Road)
- Encore Las Vegas (no direct access from Desert Inn Road)
- Las Vegas Convention Center (access via Paradise Road)
- Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center (access via Maryland Parkway)
- Las Vegas National Golf Club
- Boulder Station (access via Boulder Highway and Lamb Boulevard)
References
[edit]- ^ Schweers, Jeff (19 March 1996). "Traffic to flow on new super arterial". Las Vegas. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ "The Many Uses of the Desert Inn Expressway". VEGAS - NOW & THEN. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ "Commissioners Open New Bridge on Eastside". Clark County. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "Desert Breeze Park".