Interstate 15 north of Barstow to the State Line

[FredAkbar]

I did US-95 to Searchlight then west on NV-164/Nipton Rd to I-15 once, which at least bypasses the Primm-area traffic jam, and was a fun easy drive, but doesn't help if things are heavy even past Baker.

US-95 to I-40 seems like a hell of a detour just to drive the same distance on an interstate as you would have otherwise, but I guess it's better than sitting in that annoying Baker-to-Barstow traffic, if you have the time to spare.

[FredAkbar]

With Yermo Road closed right there, is there any point to the Field Road interchange at all?

Presumably whatever Field Road goes to. But it turns into a dirt road pretty soon on both sides of the Yermo Rd intersection (north and east). Satellite view (and zoomed in Google Maps regular view) suggests there is a road in some sense (at first unnamed, then later connecting to 20866 County Road near Dunn) that continues on to the east, all the way past Dunn to Afton Rd. It also forks off to the south near the Yermo Rd intersection, toward the black object (what is that, a gulch/canyon or something man-made?).

That's the railroad and Field Road leads to what was one Field siding.

I had to Google that one. Field Siding? Apparently there is a hobby done there called rock hounding. I guess if there isn't much in the desert, there's always plenty of rocks.

[Max Rockatansky]

At Baker if you have advanced knowledge of a problem you can detour down to I-40 via Kelbaker Road.  Essentially it is a continuation of CA 127 and was somewhat recently repaved.  The detour I've taken a couple times before the modern Ag station was built is:

-  Nipton Road
-  Ivanpah Road
-  Morning Star Mine Road
-  Kelso-Cima Road
-  Kelbaker Road

The trouble is a lot of those detours work best for terminal destinations down south.  The issue I have is that I live out west in Fresno.  Death Valley, Panamint Valley and Trona are an option for me for much of the year.  Redrock-Randsburg Road getting obliterated via washouts this winter makes that detour less seamless though. 

[Max Rockatansky]

With Yermo Road closed right there, is there any point to the Field Road interchange at all?

Presumably whatever Field Road goes to. But it turns into a dirt road pretty soon on both sides of the Yermo Rd intersection (north and east). Satellite view (and zoomed in Google Maps regular view) suggests there is a road in some sense (at first unnamed, then later connecting to 20866 County Road near Dunn) that continues on to the east, all the way past Dunn to Afton Rd. It also forks off to the south near the Yermo Rd intersection, toward the black object (what is that, a gulch/canyon or something man-made?).

That's the railroad and Field Road leads to what was one Field siding.

I had to Google that one. Field Siding? Apparently there is a hobby done there called rock hounding. I guess if there isn't much in the desert, there's always plenty of rocks.

Yeah, the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad built siding facilities about every ten miles.  Most have fallen into disuse in modern times but are pretty easy to find on older Topo maps.  I've spent way too much time ghost town hunting in the Mojave Preserve and general area.  Usually there is at least some evidence of structures at most derelict siding locations.  Field never really caught my eye since it doesn't appear to be anything left aside from the road.

[pderocco]

At Baker if you have advanced knowledge of a problem you can detour down to I-40 via Kelbaker Road.  Essentially it is a continuation of CA 127 and was somewhat recently repaved.  The detour I've taken a couple times before the modern Ag station was built is:

-  Nipton Road
-  Ivanpah Road
-  Morning Star Mine Road
-  Kelso-Cima Road
-  Kelbaker Road

The trouble is a lot of those detours work best for terminal destinations down south.  The issue I have is that I live out west in Fresno.  Death Valley, Panamint Valley and Trona are an option for me for much of the year.  Redrock-Randsburg Road getting obliterated via washouts this winter makes that detour less seamless though. 

That's been my preferred route toward San Diego, often followed by Amboy Rd, through Joshua Tree, Box Canyon Rd, CA-86, CR-S30, I-8. Long, but I love most of those roads.

You could go via Pahrump, Death Valley Junction, CA-190, US-395, CA-14, CA-178, CA-99. But I wouldn't want to drive that at night, because curvy roads like 190 and 178 are tedious in the dark.

[Max Rockatansky]

At Baker if you have advanced knowledge of a problem you can detour down to I-40 via Kelbaker Road.  Essentially it is a continuation of CA 127 and was somewhat recently repaved.  The detour I've taken a couple times before the modern Ag station was built is:

-  Nipton Road
-  Ivanpah Road
-  Morning Star Mine Road
-  Kelso-Cima Road
-  Kelbaker Road

The trouble is a lot of those detours work best for terminal destinations down south.  The issue I have is that I live out west in Fresno.  Death Valley, Panamint Valley and Trona are an option for me for much of the year.  Redrock-Randsburg Road getting obliterated via washouts this winter makes that detour less seamless though. 

That's been my preferred route toward San Diego, often followed by Amboy Rd, through Joshua Tree, Box Canyon Rd, CA-86, CR-S30, I-8. Long, but I love most of those roads.

You could go via Pahrump, Death Valley Junction, CA-190, US-395, CA-14, CA-178, CA-99. But I wouldn't want to drive that at night, because curvy roads like 190 and 178 are tedious in the dark.

Taking State Line Road west of Pahrump to CA 127 at Death Valley Junction pretty easy since it was recently repaved.  Cutting down through Trona I've found saves a lot of time versus sticking west on 190 to US 395.  I probably could just stay west on 178 from Ridgecrest all the way to Bakersfield and take 204 to 99. 

[pderocco]

Funny how the topic has become "(How not to drive) Interstate 15 north of Barstow to the State Line".

[Scott5114]

Funny how the topic has become "(How not to drive) Interstate 15 north of Barstow to the State Line".

Once you've done it, oh, let's say four times, it gets old fast.

My wife is wanting going to San Diego to be a twice-a-year thing so I am probably going to be using most of these suggestions at some point, out of sheer boredom if nothing else. We have one planned for the beginning of June and I think I'm gonna do CA 18 on the way back.

[Max Rockatansky]

Funny how the topic has become "(How not to drive) Interstate 15 north of Barstow to the State Line".

Once you've done it, oh, let's say four times, it gets old fast.

My wife is wanting going to San Diego to be a twice-a-year thing so I am probably going to be using most of these suggestions at some point, out of sheer boredom if nothing else. We have one planned for the beginning of June and I think I'm gonna do CA 18 on the way back.

It has a similar vibe to I-5 in the Central Valley.  That's another freeway segment I've expended a lot of brain power trying to figure out how to avoid.  At least the options with I-5 are considerably more varied and practical.

[FredAkbar]

Funny how the topic has become "(How not to drive) Interstate 15 north of Barstow to the State Line".

Once you've done it, oh, let's say four times, it gets old fast.

My wife is wanting going to San Diego to be a twice-a-year thing so I am probably going to be using most of these suggestions at some point, out of sheer boredom if nothing else. We have one planned for the beginning of June and I think I'm gonna do CA 18 on the way back.

It has a similar vibe to I-5 in the Central Valley.  That's another freeway segment I've expended a lot of brain power trying to figure out how to avoid.  At least the options with I-5 are considerably more varied and practical.

I-5 is so much longer though. Almost 3 hours from 580 to 58 (so even farther if you're doing, say, Sac to LA). The only part of I-15 that feels like a drag to me is the 45-60 minutes from Barstow to Baker. From Baker to the state line is more interesting due to all the mountains (and the third lane most of the way makes that section much more tolerable).

[Max Rockatansky]

Funny how the topic has become "(How not to drive) Interstate 15 north of Barstow to the State Line".

Once you've done it, oh, let's say four times, it gets old fast.

My wife is wanting going to San Diego to be a twice-a-year thing so I am probably going to be using most of these suggestions at some point, out of sheer boredom if nothing else. We have one planned for the beginning of June and I think I'm gonna do CA 18 on the way back.

It has a similar vibe to I-5 in the Central Valley.  That's another freeway segment I've expended a lot of brain power trying to figure out how to avoid.  At least the options with I-5 are considerably more varied and practical.

I-5 is so much longer though. Almost 3 hours from 580 to 58 (so even farther if you're doing, say, Sac to LA). The only part of I-15 that feels like a drag to me is the 45-60 minutes from Barstow to Baker. From Baker to the state line is more interesting due to all the mountains (and the third lane most of the way makes that section much more tolerable).

I do really dig all those volcanic mountains between Dunn siding and Zzyzx.

[Plutonic Panda]

Funny how the topic has become "(How not to drive) Interstate 15 north of Barstow to the State Line".

Once you've done it, oh, let's say four times, it gets old fast.

My wife is wanting going to San Diego to be a twice-a-year thing so I am probably going to be using most of these suggestions at some point, out of sheer boredom if nothing else. We have one planned for the beginning of June and I think I'm gonna do CA 18 on the way back.

It has a similar vibe to I-5 in the Central Valley.  That's another freeway segment I've expended a lot of brain power trying to figure out how to avoid.  At least the options with I-5 are considerably more varied and practical.

I-5 is so much longer though. Almost 3 hours from 580 to 58 (so even farther if you're doing, say, Sac to LA). The only part of I-15 that feels like a drag to me is the 45-60 minutes from Barstow to Baker. From Baker to the state line is more interesting due to all the mountains (and the third lane most of the way makes that section much more tolerable).

I do really dig all those volcanic mountains between Dunn siding and Zzyzx.

I want to explore that area in between I-15 and I-40 it looks like wizard hat on Google Maps.

[ClassicHasClass]

US-95 to I-40 seems like a hell of a detour just to drive the same distance on an interstate as you would have otherwise, but I guess it's better than sitting in that annoying Baker-to-Barstow traffic, if you have the time to spare.

Oh, it is, but I love the terrain out there and it's an easy scoot.

[Plutonic Panda]

San Bernardino fire chief getting in on this.

https://www.fox5vegas.com/2026/05/26/i-15-safety-concerns-across-nv-state-line-prompt-call-infrastructure-improvements/?fbclid=IwdGRleASFYIxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEef7FE3UaqlqcTxuF7mGErqlLDg835uuqyuPMDHeAfnBLdNaYTPqOLWHSM3g8_aem_Tx3NBMQIS5XIJpRzxQ7yDA

[The Ghostbuster]

All of Interstate 15 between Barstow, CA and Las Vegas, NV should be a minimum of six lanes. The portion of Interstate 15 between Exit 265 (Halloran Summit Road) and Exit 1 (E. Primm Boulevard) in Primm should have been no exception.

[Max Rockatansky]

Playing the safety card is likely the best bet for overcoming VMT reductions.  Even still, I don't see it working out.

[Plutonic Panda]

Playing the safety card is likely the best bet for overcoming VMT reductions.  Even still, I don't see it working out.

Why can't California simply ignore VMT? They do it with other stuff.

[Max Rockatansky]

Playing the safety card is likely the best bet for overcoming VMT reductions.  Even still, I don't see it working out.

Why can't California simply ignore VMT? They do it with other stuff.

2020 SB 743 requires the Caltrans and other highway departments in California to study VMT reductions. 

https://dot.ca.gov/programs/sustainability/sb-743/

https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/SB743.html

[Plutonic Panda]

Playing the safety card is likely the best bet for overcoming VMT reductions.  Even still, I don't see it working out.

Why can't California simply ignore VMT? They do it with other stuff.

2020 SB 743 requires the Caltrans and other highway departments in California to study VMT reductions. 

https://dot.ca.gov/programs/sustainability/sb-743/

https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/SB743.html

I know you've posted that before and I read it. The state can simply ignore it. I guess we'll see what happens with this. It's a weird bill and they're still adding capacity all over the state. One could argue that NOT widening this road would result in more greenhouse emissions as a result. VMTs could also go down if the new HSR is ever built. Either way this road should be 3 lanes each way and I'd argue for 4. But 3 will be a massive improvement.

[Max Rockatansky]

Playing the safety card is likely the best bet for overcoming VMT reductions.  Even still, I don't see it working out.

Why can't California simply ignore VMT? They do it with other stuff.

2020 SB 743 requires the Caltrans and other highway departments in California to study VMT reductions. 

https://dot.ca.gov/programs/sustainability/sb-743/

https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/SB743.html

I know you've posted that before and I read it. The state can simply ignore it. I guess we'll see what happens with this. It's a weird bill and they're still adding capacity all over the state. One could argue that NOT widening this road would result in more greenhouse emissions as a result. VMTs could also go down if the new HSR is ever built. Either way this road should be 3 lanes each way and I'd argue for 4. But 3 will be a massive improvement.

Sure, they could hypothetically choose to ignore their own legally required studies.  The odds on that are pretty long though, especially with Brightline in the picture. 

FWIW, I'm just stating what the requirements are for VMT studies.  I'm not advocating a position which implies that I think they are a great idea.  In fact I've been of the opinion for the last two decades that I-15 ought to be six lanes north of Barstow. 

[Scott5114]

I know you've posted that before and I read it. The state can simply ignore it.

Sure, but then someone could sue to stop the project by saying that Caltrans didn't comply with the law, the same way people sue saying that they didn't comply with whatever environmental laws.