Nevada State Route 447
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|||||||||
| State Route 447 | |||||||||
| Maintained by Nevada DOT | |||||||||
| Length: | 74.645 mi[1] (120.129 km) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South end: |  SR 427 in Wadsworth |
||||||||
| Major junctions: |
 SR 446 near Nixon |
||||||||
| North end: | Gerlach | ||||||||
| Major cities: | Wadsworth, Nixon, Empire, Gerlach | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
State Route 447 (SR 447) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Nevada. The highway is almost entirely within Washoe County but does for a brief time enter Pershing County, Nevada[2]
The highway begins at a junction with SR 427, a historical routing of US 40, in Wadsworth, Nevada. The highway ends just north of Gerlach, Nevada. Though passing through extremely remote and desolate areas of Nevada the highway has recently gained fame as the primary route to access the Black Rock Desert, the site of the annual Burning Man festival. A 4.5-mile (7.2 km) portion of this highway, along with portions of SR 445 and SR 446,[3] has been designated the Pyramid Lake Scenic Byway.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Route description
The route begins at a junction with Old US 40 in Wadsworth. The highway proceeds north following the path of the Truckee River, and passes along the east side of the river's terminus at Pyramid Lake. The highway continues north following the western edge of Winnemucca Lake, a dry lake that once also was the terminus of the Truckee river. During this portion the highway straddles the Washoe/Pershing County line.[2]
The highway enters the Black Rock Desert just before arriving at Empire a city founded on processing gypsum extracted from the desert. The highway ends 0.375 miles (0.60 km) north of crossing the Union Pacific Railroad's Feather River Route in Gerlach.
Just past where the official designation ends is the turn off for former State Route 34, which is used to access the large playa of the Black Rock Desert and the site of the annual Burning Man Festival.
Though the highway officially ends here, the roadbed continues as a Washoe county road [4] to the California State Line near the Lassen/Modoc county line. This road is frequently called the Gerlach-Cederville Road. Some maps erroneously list this road as part of route 447.[2] Once arriving at Cedarville, the highway continues as California State Route 299.
[edit] History
The highway formed a part of State Route 34 until the renumbering of Nevada state routes in the 1970s. Other parts of the Gerlach-Cederville road were previously numbered SR 8A and SR 81.[1]
[edit] Major intersections
| County | Location[2] | Mile | Junction | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washoe | Wadsworth | 0 | SR 427 – Fernley |
|
| Nixon | SR 446 – Sutcliffe, Sparks, Pyramid Lake State Park |
|||
| Gerlach | Former SR 34 |
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Nevada State Maintained Highways: Descriptions, Index and Maps". http://www.nevadadot.com/reports_pubs/state_maintained/pdf/sm_book.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-02-03.
- ^ a b c d Benchmark Maps. Nevada Road and Recreation Atlas [map], 1:250000. (2003) ISBN 0-929591-81-X. p. 38,46.
- ^ "Nevada Scenic Byways". Nevada Department of Transportation. http://www.nevadadot.com/pub_involvement/scenicbyways/. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ "WASHOE COUNTY ROADS DEPARTMENT -- AREA DESCRIPTIONS". Washoe County, Nevada. http://www.co.washoe.nv.us/pubworks/area_descriptions.htm. Retrieved on 2008-02-03.
