Talk:Rainbow Boulevard (Las Vegas)

Nevada State Route 153

Why does Nevada State Route 153 redirect here? It's not mentioned anywhere in the article... -- Kéiryn ^talk 10:06, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure of all the details, so bear with me; most of what is below is original research. Between 1976 (?) and 1991, NDOT used federal/state (?) aid numbers that matched the signed numbers. But, some of the time, a single route had more than one aid designation, as it entered or left an urban area. Rainbow Boulevard was FAS (federal aid secondary) 153 and FAU (urban) 595. [1] and [2] both indicate that SR 595 was FAU 595 and FAS 153. (FAS 829 was the old designation pre-1970s.) Due to its inclusion in the former document, [3], probably erroneously, lists SR 153 as an old number for SR 595.

Complicating this particular route (but not most others) is the official NDOT maps, which actually show it as SR 153 in 1978 and 1980 (the two editions that have old and new numbers), and in 1982. The shield was removed for the 1983 edition, which shows no number at all on the road; this remains true through several redesigns until 1999, when it is marked as SR 595.

So SR 153 may or may not have been the actual designation, but, even if it wasn't, several sources (NDOT maps 1978-1982 and rockymountainroads) show that it was, and due to the way numbers have been assigned, no other route could have been SR 153. So there's no reason not to redirect, but I don't think it should be mentioned unless we have more evidence than a probable map error (there was no redesign from 1982 to 1983, when the shield was removed). If you have any Nevada maps from the 1980s that can shed some light, it would be appreciated. (My 1988 Rand McNally atlas does not place a shield on the road.) --NE2 15:26, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

It may be original research, but it certainly seems to fit the available evidence. I've been wondering about this myself. Thanks for the insight. If I come across any resources that can shed some light, I'll certainly let everyone know. --Ljthefro (talk) 08:36, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

I've recently discovered that the government documents section of UNR's library has copies of several old NDOT route logs dating back to the 1978 version. The logs from 1978 to the early 1990s show multiple routes having different internal designations, with state route designations also listed where applicable (generally only on roads owned by NDOT). Many of the logs in the early 1980s refer to SR 153 and not SR 595. Further, it appears that mileage of FAS 153 and FAU 595 changed periodically, with FAU 595 extending over more of FAS 153 periodically as the urban boundaries of the Las Vegas area changed.

It appears that NDOT abandoned the federal aid/state aid system by the end of 1991. The 1993 log only gives state route numbers with no mention of FAP/FAS/FAU/SAR status, and only segments of the aid routes that were owned/maintained by NDOT in earlier versions of the log were retained in the '93 version. This log shows SR 595 with no mention of SR 153. My guess would be that the majority of the NDOT maintained portions of Rainbow Blvd fell along what had been FAU 595, and the state decided to retain that number instead of the 153 designation.

This is a somewhat interesting issue pertaining to much of the Nevada highway system that I haven't yet been able to fully research. --LJ (talk) 00:39, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Lorenzi St.

Was the section north of the junction with US 95 formerly Lorenzi St.? I happened to see the NV Energy substation on Rainbow between Alexander and Craig is called Lorenzi Substation. Most of the NV Energy substations are named for the streets they are on or near. There is an existing segment of Lorenzi St. south of US 95 just east of Rainbow, and this segment lines up perfectly with the segment of Rainbow north of US 95. There are no segments named Lorenzi St. north of US 95.

Yes, Rainbow Blvd north of US 95 was formerly named Lorenzi Blvd. The name was changed approximately 25-30 years ago. -- LJ ↗ 03:48, 25 April 2017 (UTC)

References