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 Road
Maintained byClark County
Length17.49 mi (28.15 km)
LocationLas Vegas
Clark County
West endRed Rock Ranch Road in Summerlin South
Major
junctions
SR 595 in Spring Valley

SR 596 in Spring Valley
SR 582 in Sunrise Manor

SR 612 in Whitney
East endHollywood Boulevard in Whitney

Desert Inn Expressway

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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

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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

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The entire route is in Clark County.

LocationmikmDestinationsNotes
Summerlin South0.000.00Red Rock Ranch RoadWestern terminus of Desert Inn Road
0.33–
0.39
0.53–
0.63
Bridge over CC 215
0.590.95Golden Willow LaneAccess to The Alexander Dawson School at Rainbow Mountain
0.931.50Town Center Drive
Las VegasSpring Valley line1.462.35Hualapai Way
1.963.15Grand Canyon Drive
2.473.98Fort Apache Road
2.944.73Crystal Water WaySouthern terminus of Crystal Water Way
2.984.80El Capitan WayNorthern terminus of southern segment of El Capitan Way
3.485.60Durango DriveAccess to Desert Breeze Park
Spring Valley3.986.41Cimarron Road
4.487.21Buffalo Drive
4.998.03Tenaya Way
5.498.84  SR 595 (Rainbow Boulevard)
5.999.64Torrey Pines Drive
6.4910.44  SR 596 (Jones Boulevard)
6.9711.22Lindell Road
Las VegasParadise line7.4411.97Decatur Boulevard
7.9412.78Arville Street
8.4413.58Valley View BoulevardWestern terminus of Desert Inn Expressway
8.63–
8.72
13.89–
14.03
Rancho DriveInterchange; 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 DriveInterchange; eastbound exit and entrance
WinchesterParadise line8.93–
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 BoulevardDesert Inn Road changes signing from West Desert Inn Road to East Desert Inn Road.
9.9516.01Wynn BoulevardEastbound entrance
10.4816.87Paradise RoadAccess to Las Vegas Convention Center -Las Vegas Monorail
10.48–
10.98
16.87–
17.67
Corridor under Las Vegas Convention Center
10.9817.67Joe W. Brown Drive, University Center DriveEastern terminus of Desert Inn Expressway
11.2318.07Cambridge StreetCambridge Street terminus
11.4818.48  Maryland ParkwayAccess to Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center
11.6218.70Onieda Way
11.7518.91La Canada Street
12.5120.13Eastern Avenue
12.7520.52Topaz Road
13.0020.92McLeod Drive
13.14–
13.16
21.15–
21.18
Bridge over Flamingo Arroyo
13.2521.32Mojave Road
13.5021.73Pecos Road
14.0022.53Sandhill Road
14.15–
14.18
22.77–
22.82
Underpass under I-11/US 93/US 95
Sunrise ManorParadise line14.4523.26  SR 582 (Boulder Highway) / Lamb Boulevard northDesert Inn Road first western terminus, road continues north as Lamb Boulevard
Gap in route
14.4523.26Lamb BoulevardDesert Inn Road second western terminus
Whitney15.4824.91  SR 612 (Nellis Boulevard)
15.9825.72Cabena Drive
17.2127.70Bridge over the Las Vegas Wash
17.4928.15Hollywood BoulevardDesert Inn Road eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Places along Desert Inn Road

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The following are sorted by west-east location along Desert Inn Road.

References

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  1. ^ Schweers, Jeff (19 March 1996). "Traffic to flow on new super arterial". Las Vegas. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  2. ^ "The Many Uses of the Desert Inn Expressway". VEGAS - NOW & THEN. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Commissioners Open New Bridge on Eastside". Clark County. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Desert Breeze Park".