US 50

U.S. Route 50 (US 50), nicknamed in Nevada as "The Loneliest Road in America" in real life, is an east–west US Highway in northern California and central Nevada, Utah, and Colorado in American Truck Simulator. The route is separated into two sections: The first section runs from Interstate 80 to SR 16, within Sacramento. The second section runs from Stateline, Nevada, southwest of Carson City, to Emporia, Kansas. In real life, US 50 runs 3073 miles (4946 km) between Sacramento, CA, and Ocean City, MD; it is one of the longest US highways.

Course

US 50 begins at its interchange with I-80 near Sacramento, CA. After crossing the Sacramento River, the highway intersects with I-5, and a short distance later with Howe Avenue and Power Inn Road. US 50 leaves Sacramento, enters the Sierra Foothills through the town of Placerville and heads over the pass going through Silverfork. At the summit of the Sierras, the highway descends into Meyers where it intersects SR 89 and encounters a Border Protection Station before entering South Lake Tahoe.

Crossing into Nevada, US 50 enters the city of Stateline. and traces along Lake Tahoe via the Cave Rock Tunnels . The highway then crosses the Carson Range (a subrange of the Sierra Nevada) via Spooner Summit before meeting with US 395, passing through Carson City, the capital of Nevada. In real life, the highway heads east directly out of Carson City, but in the game, it runs north for a short distance, running concurrent with Interstate 580, before turning east into the Great Basin Desert. This stretch of the road that runs across the barren desert is known as "The Loneliest Road in America" for the few towns along the stretch, all separated by mountainous desert. Only two of these towns are featured in ATS: Austin, which sits in the middle of this stretch at the intersections with NV 305 and 376; and Ely, where US 6 begins running concurrent with the highway. Out of Ely the 50 and 6 join another highway, the 93, and cross the Schell Creek Range via Connors Pass (7729 ft); at the summit of the pass is a rest stop and an unmarked off-road trail. At Majors Place the 50 and 6 break from the 93 and curve around the Snake Range, crossing the mountains at Sacramento Pass, and passing by Borders Inn at the state line with Utah.

As the highway crosses the Confusion Range via the tight and winding Diablo Canyon, the highway crosses the flat, open Sevier Desert in a long, straight line. At Delta, US 6 breaks off, and the 50 runs south to Interstate 15, running concurrent with the interstate to Scipio. The highway soon reaches Salina, where it begins a concurrency with Interstate 70 across the rest of its course in Utah and towards Colorado.

After running through downtown Grand Junction in eastern Colorado, the highway crosses the Colorado River and heads south to Montrose, where it meets US 550. At Montrose the 50 resumes its eastward course, where it soon encounters the Blue Mesa Reservoir, a reservoir on the Gunnison River. The highway follows the river through a short gorge (not to be confused with the impressive Black Canyon of the Gunnison) and crosses the Southern Sawatch Range via Monarch Pass, the western slope of the pass featuring a hidden dirt road that provides a winding alternate route. The summit of the pass, at 11,312 feet, is the highest point of the highway, and where it crosses the Great Continental Divide; here, a rest stop is featured. The highway winds down the mountains to Poncha Springs, where it intersects with US 285, and then runs along the Arkansas River through its canyon, which divides the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the south from the South Park Hills to the north. The highway breaks from the Arkansas River and, leaving the mountains, runs down the High Plains to Pueblo, where it intersects with Interstate 25 and rejoins the Arkansas River. The 50 continues along the river to La Junta, where it makes contact with US 350 and begins following the path of the historic Santa Fe Trail, a mid-19th century trade route. The highway then passes through Las Animas and intersects with US 287 before passing through Lamar, where US 385 begins running concurrent with the highway, the shared route ending at Granada, just shy of the Kansas border.

After entering Kansas, US 50 continues down the Great Plains for a ways to Garden City, where it intersects with US 83, and passes through Dodge City, with a business route providing access to the city's center, shortly after. US 50 then intersects with US 183 at Kinsley, and, descending into a greener environment, runs to the city of Hutchinson; between Kinsley and Hutchinson, on the north side of the highway, is a secret road that leads to "Kent Farm", an easter egg paying homage to Superman. Not far east of Hutchinson, US 50 meets Interstate 135 at Newton, and continues on to Interstate 35 at Emporia, the current eastern terminus of the highway as its own route; in real life, US 50 runs concurrent with I-35 from Emporia to Lenexa, a suburb of Kansas City, however neither end of this concurrency is represented in the game.

Cities

California

• Sacramento

Scenery towns

• Placerville
• Silverfork
• Strawberry
• Meyers
• South Lake Tahoe

Nevada

• Carson City
• Ely

Scenery towns

• Stateline
• Austin
• Majors Place
• Borders Inn

Utah

• Salina
• Moab (via US 191)

Scenery towns

• Delta
• Scipio
• Crescent Junction

Colorado

• Grand Junction
• Montrose
• Pueblo
• Lamar

Scenery towns

• Loma
• Fruita
• Poncha Springs
• Parkdale
• La Junta
• Las Animas
• Granada

Kansas

• Garden City
• Dodge City
• Hutchinson
• Emporia

Scenery towns

• Kinsley
• South Hutchinson
• Newton

Junction list

California

Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Facilities	Notes
Sacramento	0	0	----	IS80 I-80 west – San Francisco		West terminus; road continues as I-80
			1 A	IS80 I-80 east – Reno		Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; I-80 exit 82
	8	8	1 B	Harbor Boulevard
			4	IS5 I-5 – Los Angeles, Redding		I-5 exit 518
			9	CA16 SR 16 east (Power Inn Road) – Howe Avenue
End first section

Nevada

Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes	Facilities
Start second section
	0		SR 207 - Tonopah	West end of US 50
	26		Unnamed Road - Reno	Inaccessible
Carson City	34		Carson City
	34		US 395 Bus. south	TOTSO
	35		Carson City
	45		IS580 I-580 south – Carson City	TOTSO Southbound exit and northbound entrance: western end of freeway; western end of I-580 / US 395 concurrency; I-580 exit 43
	58		IS580USNV395 I-580 / US 395 north – Reno	TOTSO Eastern end of freeway; eastern end of I-580 / US 395 concurrency; I-580 / US 395 exit 44
Austin	218		NV305 SR 305 north – Winnemucca
	225		NV376 SR 376 south – Tonopah
Ely	347		USNV6 US 6 – Tonopah	Western end of US 6 concurrency
	349		USNV93 US 93 north – Jackpot	TOTSO Western end of US 93 concurrency
	373		USNV93 US 93 south – Pioche	East terminus in base game Eastern end of US 93 concurrency

Utah

Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes	Facilities

Colorado

Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes	Facilities

History

• In the initial version of American Truck Simulator, US 50 began at an at-grade three-way junction with an unnamed road in Stateline and ended at an at-grade three-way junction with US 6 and US 93 in Ely.

• In update 1.5, as part of the 1:35 to 1:20 map rescale, new sections were added to the existing route to accommodate the new map scale. The at-grade four-way junction in Carson City that marked the south end of the Interstate 580 concurrency was changed to a half-trumpet interchange, and the east terminus was changed to a new at-grade three-way junction with US 50 and US 93 south of Ely.

• In update 1.32, the section of Interstate 580, US 50 and US 395 bypassing Carson City was added.

• In update 1.36, the at-grade three-way junction with US 6 and US 93 south of Ely was rebuilt and re-oriented from a US 6 and US 50 TOTSO to US 6 and US 50 going straight through the junction, and Majors Place and a rest area were added there.

• In the initial version of the Utah map expansion DLC, the section of US 50 from US 6 and US 93 in Majors Place to Interstate 70, US 6, and US 191 in Crescent Junction was added.

• In the initial version of the Colorado map expansion DLC, the section of US 50 from Interstate 70, US 6, and US 191 in Crescent Junction to US 385 in Granada was added.

• In update 1.44, as part of the second phase of the California rework, the section of US 50 from Interstate 80 to SR 16, within Sacramento, was added.

• In the initial version of the Kansas map expansion DLC, the section of US 50 from US 385 in Granada to Emporia was added.

See also

• Information about U.S. Route 50 in real life