From Old Spanish Trail to I-15

From Old Spanish Trail to I-15. Evolution of a Superhighway. , Spanish Trail caravans wound between watering holes across the Mojave Desert. Mormon wagon trains followed much of the Spanish Trail, but since wagons could haul water and feed, this opened up short-cuts. The railroad broke new ground by building across the lowest, driest desert valleys, constructing wells to serve its steam locomotives., Early travel by automobile was risky. The first automobile road to link Las Vegas to Utah and California was the Arrowhead Trail, built between 1914-1925. In Southern Nevada, the earliest autoroute followed the Mormon Road and avoided the lowest desert landscape. Highway funds came from local governments and automobile clubs. In 1921, the federal government began to invest in highways. Highway numbers replaced names in 1926 and the Arrowhead Trail became US 91. After world war two, the U.S. created the federal interstate system. Interstate 15 (I-15) parallels much of US 91, but bypasses some of the small towns which sprouted up to serve early automobile traffic. Only a few of the safe havens of wagon road/Spanish Trail days are still important: Las Vegas, Barstow, and Mesquite., (caption:) In 1962 Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack played the Sands Hotel on U.S. Route 91, which replaced the Old Spanish Trail as the road between Southern California and Utah through the Las Vegas Valley., All photos Special Collections, Lied Library, UNLV