History of California's state highway system

Summary

The state highway system in the U.S. state of California dates back to 1896, when the state took over maintenance of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road. Before then, roads and streets were managed exclusively by local governments. Construction of a statewide highway system began in 1912, after the state's voters approved an $18 million bond issue for over 3,000 miles (4,800 km) of highways. The last large addition was made by the California State Assembly in 1959, after which only minor changes have been made.

California State Route 1 road sign

1895 to 1919 edit

 
Recommended state highway system, 1896

The first state road was authorized on March 26, 1895, by the California State Legislature when it enacted a law which created the post of "Lake Tahoe Wagon Road Commissioner" to maintain the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road (the 1852 Johnson's Cut-off of the California Trail), now US 50 from Smith Flat — 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Placerville — to the Nevada state line.[1] The 58 mile[2] (93 km) road had been operated as a toll road until 1886, when El Dorado County bought it; the county deeded the road to the state on February 28, 1896.[3] Funding was only enough for minimal improvements, including a stone bridge over the South Fork American River in 1901.[4]

 
The Bureau of Highways with their buckboard wagon in Riverside County, 1896

Also in 1895, on March 27, the legislature created the three-person Bureau of Highways to coordinate efforts by the counties to build good roads. The bureau traveled to every county of the state in 1895 and 1896 and prepared a map of a recommended system of state roads, which they submitted to the governor on November 25, 1896.[5] The legislature replaced the Bureau of Highways with the Department of Highways on April 1, 1897,[6] three days after it passed a law creating a second state highway from Sacramento to Folsom — another part of what became US 50 — to be maintained by three "Folsom Highway Commissioners".[7] This was the last highway maintained by a separate authority, as the next state road, the Mono Lake Basin State Road (now part of SR 120), was designated by the legislature in 1899 to be built and maintained by the Department of Highways.[8]

Several more state highways were legislated in the next decade, and the legislature passed a law creating the Department of Engineering on March 11, 1907. This new department, in addition to non-highway duties, was to maintain all state highways, including the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road.[9] On March 22, 1909, the "State Highways Act" was passed, taking effect on December 31, 1910, after a successful vote by the people of the state in November. This law authorized the Department of Engineering to issue $18 million in bonds for a "continuous and connected state highway system" that would connect all county seats.[10] To this end, the department created the three-member California Highway Commission on August 8, 1911, to take full charge of the construction and maintenance of this system. As with the 1896 plan by the Bureau of Highways, the Highway Commission traveled the state to determine the best routes,[11] which ended up stretching about 3,100 miles (5,000 km).[12] Construction began in mid-1912,[13] with groundbreaking on Contract One — now part of SR 82 in San Mateo County — occurring on August 7.[14] Noteworthy portions of the system built by the commission included the Ridge Route in southern California and the Yolo Causeway west from Sacramento.[15]

 
The Ridge Route, ca. 1920

Because the first bond issue did not provide enough funding, the "State Highways Act of 1915" was approved by the legislature on May 20, 1915, and the voters in November 1916, taking effect on December 31. This gave the Department of Engineering an additional $12 million to complete the original system and $3 million for a further approximately 680 miles (1,090 km) specified by the law. At this time, each route was assigned a number from 1 to 34;[16] this system of labeling routes, although never marked with signs, remained until the 1964 renumbering. In 1917, the legislature gave the California Highway Commission statutory recognition, and turned over the approximately 750 miles[17] (1200 km) of roads adopted by legislative act, until then maintained by the State Engineer, to the commission.[13] Where not serving as extensions of existing routes, these - and routes subsequently added legislatively in 1917 and 1919 - were given numbers from 35 to 45. A third bond issue was approved by the voters at a special election on July 1, 1919, and provided $20 million more for the existing routes and the same amount for new extensions totaling about 1,800 miles (2,900 km), adding Routes 46 to 64 to the system.[18] The three bond issues together totaled 5,560 miles (8,950 km), of which just over 40% (60% if the 1919 bond issue is left out) was completed or under construction in mid-1920.[19]

1920 to 1958 edit

 
San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge construction, 1935

The Department of Engineering became part of the new Department of Public Works in 1921, and the California Highway Commission was entirely separated as its own department in 1923.[20] In order to pay for the roads, a 2-cent per gallon gasoline tax was approved in 1923.[20] The legislature continued to add highways to the system, including the Mother Lode Highway (now part of SR 49) in 1921[21] and the Arrowhead Trail (now I-15 north of Barstow) in 1925.[22] In January 1928, the California State Automobile Association and Automobile Club of Southern California, which had already been placing guide and warning signs along state highways, marked the U.S. Highways along several of the most major state highways.[23] The California Toll Bridge Authority was created in 1929 to acquire and operate all toll bridges on state highways,[20] including the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and Carquinez Bridge.

 
The state highway system in 1930

After 1927 and 1929, in which no highways were added to the system, the legislature authorized the construction of 23 new routes in 1931,[24] which were numbered from 72 to 80 when not forming extensions of existing routes. Two years later, another 213 sections of highway were added,[25] almost doubling the total length of state highways to about 14,000 miles (23,000 km);[26] the last-assigned route number jumped from 80 to 202. Many of these new routes, as well as a number of existing routes, were incorporated into the initial system of state sign routes in 1934, also posted by the auto clubs.[20][27]

The Division of Highways took over signage on state highways from the auto clubs in 1947,[20] though at least the Auto Club of Southern California continued to place signs on city streets until 1956.[28]

The "Great Renumbering" of 1964 edit

In 1963 and 1964, the California Division of Highways implemented a major renumbering of its state highways. The majority of sign routes — those marked for the public — kept their numbers; the main changes were to the legislative routes, which had their numbers changed to match the sign routes. A large number of formerly unsigned routes received sign numbers corresponding to their new legislative numbers. A smaller change was the removal and truncating of many U.S. Routes in favor of the Interstate Highways (designated in 1959), and the renumbering of State Routes that conflicted with Interstate numbers. Some U.S. Routes that were officially removed continued to be signed until the replacement Interstates were completed. The state law authorizing the renumbering was passed on September 20, 1963. Signage changes took place by July 1, 1964.[29]

1964 to present edit

 
The San Joaquin Hills Toll Road (State Route 73) climbs into the San Joaquin Hills, as seen looking southward from University Hills in Irvine. In the foreground is the tolled Bonita Canyon Drive exit.

A regularly recurring issue in California politics since the 1960s was whether the state should continue to aggressively expand its freeway network or concentrate on improving mass transit networks. Freeway revolts sprang up across the state in the 1960s and 1970s, killing or delaying several projects such as a freeway in San Francisco between the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge better known as the Embarcadero Freeway, and an expansion of Interstate 710 through South Pasadena.

Both the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970 added significant environmental regulations to highway construction. Then in 1972, the Department of Public Works was merged with the Department of Aeronautics to become the modern California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).[30] Now Caltrans not only manages the state highway system, but is also actively involved with public transportation systems throughout the state, and thus is essentially in charge of the entire state's transportation network.

Toll roads and high-occupancy toll lanes began to open across the state beginning in the 1990s. The decade also saw the implementation of FasTrak, California's electronic toll collection (ETC) system, across all toll facilities on state highways. The 91 Express Lanes opened in 1995 along State Route 91 between Anaheim and the Riverside County line, developed as a partnership between Caltrans and the private California Private Transportation Company (CPTC). The Transportation Corridor Agencies, a local agency created by the state, also established three toll roads in Orange California in the 1990s. Another privately financed toll highway project, the South Bay Expressway, began operation in San Diego County in 2007. Several of these other HOT lanes across various state highway are also either currently under construction or in the planning stages that will open in the near future.

List of route numbers, 1917-1931 edit

Approximate present number(s) From To History
1 US 101, US 199 Sausalito Oregon 1910 bond issue: Sausalito to Crescent City
1919 bond issue: Crescent City to Oregon
2 US 101, I-5 San Francisco San Diego 1910 bond issue: entire route
3 I-80, SR 65, SR 99, I-5 Sacramento Oregon 1910 bond issue: entire route
4 SR 99, I-5 Sacramento Los Angeles 1910 bond issue: entire route
5 I-5, I-205, I-580, SR 238, I-680, SR 17 Stockton Santa Cruz, with a branch to Oakland 1910 bond issue: entire route
6 I-80 Sacramento Davis 1910 bond issue: entire route
7 I-680, I-80, SR 113, I-5 Benicia Red Bluff 1910 bond issue: entire route
8 SR 37, SR 121, SR 12 Novato Fairfield 1910 bond issue: entire route
9 SR 118, I-210, SR 66 San Fernando San Bernardino 1910 bond issue: entire route (San Bernardino County seat lateral)
10 SR 198 San Lucas Sequoia National Park 1910 bond issue: Hanford to Visalia (Kings County and Tulare County seat lateral)
1916 bond issue: San Lucas to Hanford
1919 bond issue: Visalia to Sequoia National Park
11 US 50 Sacramento Nevada 1895 law:[1] Smith Flat to Nevada
1897 law:[7] Sacramento to Folsom
1910 bond issue: Sacramento to Placerville (El Dorado County seat lateral)
1915 law:[31] Placerville to Smith Flat
1919 bond issue: Placerville to Pollock Pines
12 I-8 San Diego El Centro 1910 bond issue: entire route (Imperial County seat lateral)
13 SR 219, SR 108 Salida East of Sonora Pass 1901 law:[32] Long Barn to east of Sonora Pass
1910 bond issue: Salida to Sonora (Tuolumne County seat lateral)
1919 law:[33] Sonora to Long Barn
14 SR 123, I-80 Oakland Martinez 1910 bond issue: entire route (Contra Costa County seat lateral)
15 SR 20 Ukiah Emigrant Gap 1910 bond issue: Williams to Colusa (Colusa County seat lateral)
1919 bond issue: Ukiah to Williams and Colusa to Emigrant Gap
16 SR 175 Hopland Lakeport 1910 bond issue: entire route (Lake County seat lateral)
17 I-80, SR 49 Roseville Nevada City 1910 bond issue: entire route (Placer County and Nevada County seat lateral)
18 SR 140 Merced Yosemite National Park 1910 bond issue: Merced to Mariposa (Mariposa County seat lateral)
1915 law:[34] through Yosemite National Park
1916 bond issue: Mariposa to Yosemite National Park
19 SR 71, SR 60 West of Claremont Riverside 1910 bond issue: entire route (Riverside County seat lateral)
20 SR 299 Arcata Redding 1910 bond issue: Weaverville to Redding (Trinity County seat lateral)
1916 bond issue: Arcata to Salyer and Helena to Weaverville
21 SR 162, SR 70 Richvale Quincy 1910 bond issue: Richvale to Oroville as Route 21 (Butte County seat lateral) and Oroville to Quincy as Route 30 (Plumas County seat lateral)
1919 bond issue: Oroville to Quincy as Route 21
22 SR 156 North of Hollister San Juan Bautista 1910 bond issue: Hollister to San Juan Bautista (San Benito County seat lateral)
1919 bond issue: north of Hollister to Hollister
23 SR 14, US 395, SR 89 Saugus South Lake Tahoe 1901 law:[32] Bridgeport to east of Sonora Pass
1910 bond issue: Saugus to Bridgeport (Inyo County and Mono County seat lateral)
1911 law:[35] east of Sonora Pass to South Lake Tahoe
24 SR 12, SR 49, SR 4 Lodi Southeast of Markleeville 1910 bond issue: Lodi to San Andreas (Calaveras County seat lateral)
1911 law:[35] Calaveras Big Trees to southeast of Markleeville
1921 law:[21] San Andreas to Angels Camp
1925 law:[36] Angels Camp to Calaveras Big Trees
25 SR 49 Nevada City Downieville 1910 bond issue: entire route (Sierra County seat lateral)
26 I-10, SR 86 San Bernardino El Centro 1916 bond issue: entire route
27 I-8 El Centro Arizona 1916 bond issue: entire route
28 SR 299 Redding Nevada 1910 bond issue: Redding to Alturas (Modoc County seat lateral)
1911 law:[37] Pittville to Adin
1921 law:[38] Alturas to Nevada
29 SR 36, US 395 Red Bluff Nevada 1910 bond issue: Red Bluff to Susanville (Lassen County seat lateral)
1919 bond issue: Susanville to Nevada
30 SR 70 Oroville Quincy See Route 21
31 I-215, I-15 San Bernardino Nevada 1916 bond issue: San Bernardino to Barstow
1925 law:[22] Barstow to Nevada
32 SR 152 Chowchilla Gilroy 1916 bond issue: entire route
33 SR 46 Bakersfield Paso Robles 1916 bond issue: entire route
34 SR 104, SR 88 Galt Southeast of Luther Pass 1910 bond issue: Galt to Jackson (Amador County seat lateral)
1911 law:[35] Jackson to southeast of Luther Pass
35 SR 36, SR 3 Mad River Peanut 1907 law:[39] entire route
36 N/A Northwest of Downieville Downieville 1907 law:[40] entire route
37 I-80 Auburn Truckee 1909 law:[41] Emigrant Gap to Donner Lake
1915 law:[42] Donner Lake to Truckee
1915 law:[43] Auburn to Emigrant Gap
1919 bond issue: entire route
38 SR 89, I-80 South Lake Tahoe Nevada 1911 law:[44] South Lake Tahoe to Homewood
1915 law:[42] Homewood to Truckee
1919 law:[45] Truckee to Nevada
1919 bond issue: Tahoe City to Nevada
39 SR 28 Tahoe City Nevada 1915 law:[46] entire route
40 SR 120 West of Chinese Camp Lee Vining 1899 law:[8] Yosemite National Park to west of Lee Vining
1915 law:[47] through Yosemite National Park
1915 law:[34] west of Chinese Camp to Yosemite National Park
1917 law:[48] west of Lee Vining to Lee Vining
41 SR 180 General Grant Grove Kings Canyon 1909 law:[49] entire route
1919 bond issue: entire route
42 SR 9, SR 236 Saratoga Gap Big Basin Redwoods State Park 1913 law:[50] entire route
43 SR 18 Waterman Canyon Big Bear Lake 1917 law:[51] Waterman Canyon to east end of Big Bear Lake via north side
1919 bond issue: Arrowbear Lake to Metcalf Bay on south side of Big Bear Lake
44 SR 236 Boulder Creek Big Basin Redwoods State Park 1913 law:[50] within the park
1917 law:[52] outside the park
45 SR 162 Biggs Willows 1919 law:[53] entire route
46 SR 96, SR 169 North of Yreka Klamath 1919 bond issue: entire route
47 SR 32 Orland Chico 1919 bond issue: entire route
48 SR 128 Cloverdale Albion 1919 bond issue: entire route
49 SR 29, SR 53 Calistoga North of Lower Lake 1919 bond issue: Calistoga to Lower Lake as Route 49 and Lower Lake to north of Lower Lake as Route 50
50 SR 16 Northeast of Lower Lake Rumsey 1919 bond issue: entire route
51 SR 12 Santa Rosa Sonoma 1919 bond issue: entire route
52 SR 131 Tiburon Mill Valley 1919 bond issue: entire route
53 SR 12 Fairfield Lodi 1919 bond issue: Fairfield to Rio Vista
1921 law:[54] Rio Vista to Lodi
54 SR 16 East of Sloughhouse Plymouth 1919 bond issue: entire route
55 SR 35 San Francisco North of Santa Cruz 1919 bond issue: entire route
56 SR 1 Cambria Carmel 1919 bond issue: San Simeon to Carmel
1921 law:[55] Cambria to San Simeon
57 SR 166, SR 119, SR 178 Santa Maria Freeman Junction 1919 bond issue: entire route
58 SR 58, I-40 Mojave Arizona 1919 bond issue: Mojave to Needles
1925 law:[56] Needles to Arizona
59 SR 138 Gorman Lancaster 1919 bond issue: entire route
60 SR 1 El Rio San Juan Capistrano 1919 bond issue: Oxnard to San Juan Capistrano
1925 law:[57] El Rio to Oxnard
61 SR 2 La Canada Flintridge Red Box Gap 1919 bond issue: entire route
62 SR 39 Azusa San Gabriel Canyon 1919 bond issue: entire route
63 SR 168 Big Pine Oasis 1919 bond issue: entire route
64 I-10 Mecca Blythe 1919 bond issue: entire route
65 SR 49 Auburn Sonora 1921 law:[21] entire route
66 SR 120 Lathrop Manteca 1921 law:[58] entire route
67 SR 129 San Juan Bautista Chittenden 1921 law:[59] entire route
68 US 101 San Francisco San Jose 1923 and 1925 laws:[60][61] entire route
69 I-580 San Rafael Point San Quentin 1925 law:[62] entire route
70 SR 222 Ukiah Mendocino State Hospital 1925 law:[63] entire route
71 US 101 Crescent City Oregon 1925 law:[64] entire route

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b "An act to authorize the state of California to secure the title to and right of way for that certain wagon-road...commencing a short distance easterly from the village of Smith's Flat...and running thence to Lake Tahoe...", approved March 26, 1895, chapter 128, p. 119
  2. ^ Report of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road Commissioner, November 29, 1898
  3. ^ California Highways and Public Works, Centennial Edition, September 9, 1950
  4. ^ Department of Engineering (1917), p. 181
  5. ^ Blow, pp. 12-15
  6. ^ Blow, p. 18
  7. ^ a b "An act to provide for the construction of a state highway or wagon road from Sacramento City to Folsom...", approved March 29, 1897, chapter 176, p. 239
  8. ^ a b "An act to provide for the construction of a free wagon road from the Mono lake basin to connect with a road called 'Tioga road,' at or near the 'Tioga mine,' and making an appropriation therefor.", approved February 23, 1899, chapter 26, p. 26
  9. ^ "An act to create for the State of California a department of engineering...", approved March 11, 1907, chapter 183, p. 215
  10. ^ "An act authorizing the construction, acquisition, maintenance and control of a system of state highways in the State of California...", approved March 22, 1909, chapter 383, p. 647
  11. ^ Blow, pp. 27-34
  12. ^ Howe & Peters, p. 12
  13. ^ a b Automobile Clubs, p. 16
  14. ^ Blow, p. 2
  15. ^ Department of Engineering (1917), p. 198
  16. ^ Howe & Peters, pp. 11-14
  17. ^ Home & Peters, p. 18
  18. ^ Howe & Peters, pp. 12-14
  19. ^ How & Peters, p. 17
  20. ^ a b c d e California Department of Transportation, Fact Sheet: Important Events in Caltrans History
  21. ^ a b c "An act declaring the public highway extending from Auburn in Placer County to the Sonora Lateral at Sonora in Tuolumne county to be a state highway.", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 839, p. 1608
  22. ^ a b "An act authorizing and directing the California highway commission to acquire necessary rights of way, and to construct and maintain a highway, which is hereby declared to be a state highway, extending from Barstow...to a point...on the boundary line between the state of California and the state of Nevada...which said highway is commonly known and referred to as the Arrowhead trail.", approved May 23, 1925, chapter 369, p. 670
  23. ^ Route Renumbering, California Highways and Public Works, March–April 1964, p. 11
  24. ^ "An act establishing certain additional state highways and classifying them as secondary highways", approved April 1, 1931, chapter 82, p. 102, in effect August 14, 1931
  25. ^ 1933, chapter 767, p. 2034
  26. ^ Joint Fact-Finding Committee on Highways, Streets and Bridges, California's Highway Problem, 1947, OCLC 4650558, p. 29
  27. ^ Dennis, T.H. (August 1934). "State Routes Will Be Numbered and Marked with Distinctive Bear Signs". California Highways and Public Works. 11 (8): 20–21, 32. ISSN 0008-1159 – via Archive.org.
  28. ^ Richard R. Mathison, Three Cars in Every Garage: A Motorist's History of the Automobile and the Automobile Club in Southern California, Doubleday, 1968, OCLC 435368, p. 240
  29. ^ California Highways and Public Works, March–April 1964, Route Renumbering (PDF)
  30. ^ Raymond Forsyth and Joseph Hagwood, One Hundred Years of Progress (Sacramento: California Transportation Foundation, 1996)128.
  31. ^ "An act declaring the wagon road extending from the western end of the Lake Tahoe state wagon road to the eastern limits of the city of Placerville to be a state highway.", approved April 10, 1915, chapter 32, p. 41
  32. ^ a b "An act to declare a part of the Sonora and Mono wagon road, commencing east of Sonora, at a point known as Long Barn...and running thence across the summit of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Bridgeport...a state highway.", approved March 12, 1901, chapter 111, p. 272
  33. ^ "An act declaring the public highway extending from Long Barn...to the eastern boundary of the city of Sonora to be a public state highway.", approved May 27, 1919, chapter 510, p. 1069
  34. ^ a b "An act to take title to and thereafter maintain as a state highway, the toll road in Tuolumne and Mariposa counties, known as the Big Oak Flat and Yosemite road, also a section of Tuolumne county road to connect said toll road with the Sonora lateral of the state highway.", approved May 19, 1915, chapter 396, p. 635
  35. ^ a b c "An act to establish the Alpine state highway; to define its course...", approved April 15, 1911, chapter 468, p. 931
  36. ^ "An act declaring the county road in Calaveras county, extending from Angels Camp through Vallecita and Murphy to Calaveras Big Trees in the national forest to be a state highway.", approved May 23, 1925, chapter 375, p. 689
  37. ^ "An act declaring a state highway from the Shasta county line through Lassen county to the Modoc county line...", approved April 22, 1911, chapter 498, p. 1036
  38. ^ "An act making an appropriation to pay the cost of making a survey and preparing plans and estimates for the construction of a highway from the town of Alturas in Modoc county to the Nevada-California state line by the most direct and practical route via Cedarville connecting with the proposed Nevada state highway.", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 888, p. 1685
  39. ^ "An act to provide for the survey, location and construction of a state highway connecting the present county road systems of any one or all of the counties of Trinity, Tehama and Shasta with the road system of Humboldt County...", approved March 23, 1907, chapter 117, p. 139
  40. ^ "An act to make an appropriation for the location, survey and construction of a state highway from a point known as the Mount Pleasant ranch on the road between Quincy and Marysville thence in a southeasterly direction by Eureka to Downieville, Sierra County.", approved March 8, 1907, chapter 116, p. 138
  41. ^ "An act to make an appropriation for the location, survey and construction of a state highway from Emigrant Gap...to the west end of Donner Lake...", approved March 13, 1909, chapter 224, p. 352
  42. ^ a b "An act declaring the wagon road from McKinney's to the west end of Donner Lake a state highway." approved May 18, 1915, chapter 203, p. 441
  43. ^ "An act declaring the county road extending from Auburn...to a point near Emigrant Gap, a state highway...", approved June 9, 1915, chapter 678, p. 1327
  44. ^ "An act to provide a state highway from Meyer's station...to McKinney's...", approved March 9, 1911, chapter 158, p. 324
  45. ^ "An act declaring and establishing a state highway from the town of Truckee running in a northeasterly direction along the present traveled road to the Nevada state line near Verdi.", approved April 15, 1919, chapter 66, p. 102
  46. ^ "An act making an appropriation for the location, survey and construction of a state highway from Tahoe city...along the northern boundary of Lake Tahoe to the western boundary of the State of Nevada at Crystal Bay...", approved June 9, 1915, chapter 680, p. 1328
  47. ^ "An act to appropriate money to purchase a portion of the Great Sierra Wagon Road and to provide for the acceptance and maintenance of said road as a state road.", approved May 18, 1915, chapter 306, p. 488
  48. ^ "An act extending the Mono Lake basin state road easterly to a junction with the county road from Mono Lake postoffice to Mono Mills.", approved May 29, 1917, chapter 704, p. 1326
  49. ^ "An act to provide for the continuation of the construction of the highway known as King's river highway, to declare it a state highway...", approved March 13, 1909, chapter 223, p. 351
  50. ^ a b "An act to provide for the survey and construction of a state highway from Saratoga Gap, on the line between the counties of Santa Clara and Santa Cruz, to, into and within California Redwood Park...", approved June 13, 1913, chapter 398, p. 855
  51. ^ "An act declaring and establishing a state highway from the city of San Bernardino, by way of Arrowhead avenue, Waterman canyon, the 'Crest drive' and Mill creek to the city of Redlands.", approved May 29, 1917, chapter 697, p. 1314
  52. ^ "An act providing for the taking over by the state of California of a certain road in Boulder Creek township...and for the maintenance and improvement of the same as a state highway...", approved May 29, 1917, chapter 703, p. 1325
  53. ^ "An act declaring and establishing a state highway between the present state highway in Butte county and the present state highway in Glenn county, over existing county roads passing through Butte city and Glenn postoffice to Willows.", approved May 27, 1919, chapter 542, p. 1190
  54. ^ "An act declaring the improved county road extending from Rio Vista to Lodi to be a state highway.", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 831, p. 1597
  55. ^ "An act declaring the county road extending from San Simeon to Cambria to be a state highway and providing for the maintenance thereof.", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 837, p. 1606
  56. ^ "An act authorizing and directing the California highway commission to acquire necessary rights of way, and to construct and maintain...a state highway, extending from Needles...to a point...on the boundary line between the State of California and the state of Arizona opposite the town of Topock, Arizona...", approved May 22, 1925, chapter 279, p. 463
  57. ^ "An act authorizing and directing the California highway commission to acquire necessary rights of way and to construct and maintain...a state highway, extending from the town of Oxnard to a point...upon the state highway extending from Los Angeles to Ventura, such point to be at or near the town of El Rio...", approved May 22, 1925, chapter 309, p. 508
  58. ^ "An act providing for the taking over by the State of California of a certain road in the county of San Joaquin...", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 845, p. 1627
  59. ^ "An act declaring and establishing a state highway between a point near Chittenden station in San Benito county, to a point on route two of the state highway in the vicinity of San Benito river bridge.", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 836, p. 1606
  60. ^ "An act authorizing and directing the California highway commission to lay out and acquire a right of way or rights of way for a highway or highways from the county line of the city and county of San Francisco, in, to and through San Mateo county...", approved May 18, 1923, chapter 181, p. 422
  61. ^ "An act to provide for the establishment of a highway, to be known as the Bay Shore highway, in the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara.", approved May 23, 1925, chapter 471, p. 1009
  62. ^ "An act declaring the public highway extending from Irwin street within the corporate limits of the city of San Rafael, in Marin county, California, to Point San Quentin, in Marin county, California, to be a state highway.", approved April 20, 1925, chapter 82, p. 190
  63. ^ "An act providing for the taking over by the State of California of a certain road in the county of Mendocino and declaring the same to be a state highway...", approved May 23, 1925, chapter 351, p. 635
  64. ^ "An act providing for the taking over by the State of California of a certain road in the county of Del Norte, and declaring the same to be a state highway...", approved May 23, 1925, chapter 335, p. 572

References edit

  • Department of Engineering, Fifth Biennial Report of the Department of Engineering of the State of California, December 1, 1914, to November 30, 1916, 1917
  • Ben Blow, California Highways: A Descriptive Record of Road Development by the State and by Such Counties as Have Paved Highways, 1920 (Archive.org or Google Books)
  • Howe & Peters, Engineers' Report to California State Automobile Association Covering the Work of the California Highway Commission for the Period 1911-1920
  • Automobile Club of Southern California and California State Automobile Association, The State Highways of California: An Engineering Study, 1921

Further reading edit

  • Brown, Jody; Everson, Dicken; Heck, Gene; Hobbs, Kelly; Huddleson, Julia; Medin, Anmarie; Mikesell, Steve; Moffett, Chad; Scott, Gloria; Nayyar, Margo; Swope, Karen; Thompson, Scott; Wooten, Kimberly; Cismowski, Deborah (2016). A Historical Context and Methodology for Evaluating Trails, Roads, and Highways in California (PDF) (Report). California Department of Transportation.