Construction of I-580

Fifteen years ago, southbound U.S. Highway 395 ended just north of Mount Rose Highway. Commuters between Reno and Carson City drove through Pleasant Valley, a scenic stretch with more traffic than it could handle. Drivers picked up speed on the freeway stretch through Washoe Valley but were then dumped on Carson City’s main street, where slow speed limits and an abundance of traffic lights slowed traffic to a crawl through the Capital City.

Construction of Interstate 580 began in 2002, although planning had started decades before. The I-580 stretch to from Reno to Washoe Valley — bypassing Pleasant Valley — opened Aug. 27, 2012. It included the most complex span of the project, the Galena Creek cathedral arch bridge, which is the largest structure of its kind. The Carson City section stretching from Lakeview Hill to William Street opened February 2006, and the next stretch to Fairview Drive was finished in September 2009. The last stretch of I-580 from Fairview to the base of Spooner Summit south of Carson City, opened to traffic Aug. 2, 2017.