Senator Pat McCarran, a member of the Democratic Party who contributed to the development of aviation both in Las Vegas and on a national scale and was staunchly anti communist.

The highway then intersects North Virginia Street (SR 430) and runs along the northern boundary of the University of Nevada, Reno campus.

When the construction of the McCarran Boulevard loop was completed, the Nevada Department of Transportation maintained the entire roadway, but classified it as two separate highways.

Initially, State Route 650 was assigned to the eastern half of the roadway, beginning at US 395 on the north end and circling through Sparks towards US 395 in southern Reno.

The assignment of the two routes along the entirety of the eastern and western McCarran Boulevard segments could be evidenced by postmile panels which were still present along the highway in late 2007.

The remaining state-maintained portion of SR 650 ended near Equity Avenue (just south of Mill Street) in Reno, leaving the route a total length of 6.365 miles (10.243 km).

The new highway number encompassed all of McCarran Boulevard, with mileage beginning at the I-580/US 395 overpass in south Reno and continuing clockwise around the entire loop.