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.

[minneha]

I drove this highway last week. It needs to be a minimum of three lanes in each direction from Vegas to Fontana. This highway only flows well when there are at least three lanes. Semi-trucks slow down the right lane on the inclines. And there are many long inclines on this highway where that happens.

Driving north from Fontana at around 10:00 am on a Friday morning. Probably a little higher traffic volume than a normal weekday morning, due to weekend getaways to Vegas. But traffic wasn't horrible. Traffic flowed pretty well from Fontana to Barstow, because there were enough lanes to handle it.

Past Barstow, it was brutal. Two lanes, slow semi-trucks in the right lane and a long line of passenger cars in the left lane. Every so often, an impatient person who thought that they were smarter than the rest of us would come flying up the right lane, only to find themselves behind a slow-moving semi-truck. Then they would have to turn on their left blinker and hope a nice person would let them cut back in the line. That then caused a chain reaction of braking in the left lane, causing traffic to go from 70-80 down to 50 in seconds. This could easily cause a rear-end collision if someone wasn't paying attention.

I learned pretty quickly that the only way to handle this kind of traffic was to just camp out in the left lane, keep a hawk's eye on the car in front of me, and just ride it out. The few areas where there were climbing lanes were nice, because the semi-trucks could go to the far right lane and leave the middle and left lanes for passenger cars to drive as normal. But, it needs more than just climbing lanes. It needs at least three lanes in each direction throughout the entire length of the highway.

[FredAkbar]

There's certainly room for more lanes out in the desert. But probably not the political will. Hopefully the Brightline West HSR train removes some of the traffic demand. But that is still several years away from completion.

[minneha]

When you consider that Greater Los Angeles has 18 million people and the Las Vegas metropolitan area has 2 million people, then you consider that probably 95 percent of the people who drive between Greater Los Angeles and Las Vegas use I-15, it's truly insane that significant parts of I-15 between Barstow and Primm only have two lanes. Add in that the vast majority of Los Angeles to Denver traffic and Los Angeles to Salt Lake City traffic also uses the same highway and it becomes even more insane.

This isn't like the Midwest, where if you want to drive from Chicago to St. Louis, you can pick from dozens of different highway routes. In those places, traffic gets dispersed among many different highway routes, which lessens the volume on any one route. But here, there aren't a lot of alternative routes. All that traffic from that many people being funneled onto one highway and it's TWO LANES? Three lanes helps the traffic flow, but in reality it should be four lanes in each direction from Vegas to Fontana.

[webny99]

Two lanes, slow semi-trucks in the right lane and a long line of passenger cars in the left lane. Every so often, an impatient person who thought that they were smarter than the rest of us would come flying up the right lane, only to find themselves behind a slow-moving semi-truck. Then they would have to turn on their left blinker and hope a nice person would let them cut back in the line. That then caused a chain reaction of braking in the left lane, causing traffic to go from 70-80 down to 50 in seconds. This could easily cause a rear-end collision if someone wasn't paying attention.

You just described the NYS Thruway any time traffic is even slightly elevated (summer weekends, holidays, Bills games, etc.)

I learned pretty quickly that the only way to handle this kind of traffic was to just camp out in the left lane, keep a hawk's eye on the car in front of me, and just ride it out.

When it gets to the point when traffic in the passing lane is tailgating, braking frequently, and barely keeping even with the right lane, I've actually started to default to the right lane, even if I'm stuck behind a truck for a while. Staying right avoids the constant braking cycles, helps "fill the void" to block those passing on the right, and then allows me to choose an optimal time to move back over when someone is inevitably clued out and leaves a large gap, which helps keep the passing lane, well, passing. I don't care if a few cars get in front of me in the process but they're not going to do it by passing on the right. People are also more tolerant of letting you back over when you've been sitting in the right lane for a while and aren't just raging ahead of everyone at all costs.