U.S. Route 50 – Loneliest road in America

U.S. route 50, also known as US 50 or Highway 50, is a major east-west U.S. Highway route that runs just over 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic Ocean, to West Sacramento, California. The route passes through mostly deserts and mountains in the Western United States. The section through Nevada is known as "The Loneliest Road in America".

Highway 50

Route 50

Longest interstate in US — The US 50 passes through mostly rural areas, including farms, in the Midwest. There are also a few large cities like Kansas City, Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri, and Cincinnati, Ohio. Highway 50 continues on to the Eastern United States, passing through the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia and then heading through Washington, D.C. Then, Route 50 continues through Maryland, as a high speed road to Ocean City.

Highway 50 — The Hwy 50 passes through 12 states, including California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado. It also passes through the District of Columbia. Time Magazine, July 7, 1997 called U.S. Highway 50 "the backbone of America". It could be called "the backbone of Colorado", as it played a significant historical role in Colorado's development.

Hwy 50 nevada — The original U.S. Highway system included Route 50. It was established in 1926. The US 50 runs from Sacramento, California to Annapolis. There is a gap in West Utah which was crossed by the route north via Salt Lake City. The RT 50 runs through Nevada and crosses a number of mountain ranges running north-south that divide the Nevada desert, which are known as Basin and Range.

Loneliest road in America

Longest road in the US — East of Carson City the road enters into the Great Basin. It passes through few communities, earning it the title "Loneliest Road in America" before reaching Utah. US 50 was an important east-west route before the Interstate Highway System was created after World War II. The United States has a number of highways that are numbered. They have odd numbers for the north-south routes and even numbers to the east-west routes. This is why the designation "50" was given for this route and longest highway in US.

The preliminary report, which was approved by the Joint Board on Interstate Highways late 1925, shows that US Route 50 ran from Wadsworth, Nevada, to Annapolis, Maryland, passing through Pueblo, Colorado, Kansas City, Missouri, Tipton, Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri, Cincinnati, Ohio, Washington, D.C. See the US hwy map.

First Image credit Pat Cobb