Regarding Ely as a trunk destination—it is by no means as large as other distant smallish rural cities like Elko or Fallon, let alone a major metro like Vegas or Reno, but it is certainly a significant hub relative to its region. It has a population just shy of 4,000, which is a big deal in a largely remote area of Nevada like this, where the next largest community, McGill, is just a satellite town of Ely with about 1k people. Its also a major hub logistically with its industrial activity, its airport, and its position on the crossroads of three U.S. Routes.

But regarding your second point in your previous comment—the issue is we've never really had an official complete classification document, at least not as of this year or even the last, or an active ongoing discussion. As I recall it, most of the trunk highway classifications made in Nevada have simply been made by either you or me with no prior discussion on our own justifications. I think going straight to reverting a change like this—only citing the lack of community consensus as a reason for reversion—is counterintuitive to avoiding the "switching road classifications back and forth ad nauseum", too.