Along this stretch of highway, near milepost 110, are several dirt roads providing access to numerous mining sites.

[6] A five-mile section of SR 305 is the site of a yearly human-powered vehicle (HPV) speed record competition conducted by the IHPVA (International Human Powered Vehicle Association),[7] with the record set to 89.59 mph (144.18 km/h) on September 17, 2016.

During repaving in 2009, special attention was paid to the five mile stretch to make sure it was the flattest and smoothest road in the world.

[11] The entire highway was paved by 1953,[12] and the SR 8A designation was moved onto the newer section near Battle Mountain by 1954.

In this process, the Austin – Battle Mountain Road segment of SR 8A was reassigned to a new State Route 305.