The highway shares much of its history with its California counterpart. Both formed part of a trail that went under such names as Emigrant Trail, Kit Carson Emigrant Trail which has existed since the 1840s. The Carson Pass route was one of two primary divisions of the California Trail. The trail's use diminished with the establishment of the First Transcontinental Railroad which was completed in 1869 and follows a path closer to modern Interstate 80 across the Sierra Nevada. Newer names for the road have included Carson Pass Road after Carson Pass in California.