U.S. Route 50 (
US 50) is a major east–west route of the
U.S. Highway system, stretching just over from
Ocean City,
Maryland on the Atlantic Ocean to
West Sacramento,
California. Until 1972, when it was replaced by
Interstate Highways west of the Sacramento area, it extended (by way of
Stockton, the
Altamont Pass, and the
Bay Bridge) to
San Francisco, near the Pacific Ocean. The Interstates were constructed later and are mostly separate from this route. It generally serves a corridor south of Interstates
70 and
80 and north of Interstates
64 and
40. The route runs through mostly rural
desert and
mountains in the
Western United States, with the section through
Nevada known as "The Loneliest Road in America". In the
Midwest, US 50 continues through mostly rural areas of farms as well as a few large cities including
Kansas City, Missouri;
St. Louis, Missouri; and
Cincinnati, Ohio. The route continues into the Eastern United States, where it passes through the
Appalachian Mountains in
West Virginia before heading through
Washington, D.C. From there, US 50 continues through
Maryland as a high-speed road to Ocean City. Signs at each end give the length as , but the actual distance is slightly less, due to realignments since the former figure was measured. US 50 passes through a total of 12 states;
California, Nevada,
Utah,
Colorado,
Kansas,
Missouri,
Illinois,
Indiana,
Ohio, West Virginia,
Virginia, and Maryland, as well as the
District of Columbia.