Skip to main content

California State Route 149

While traveling through Sacramento Valley earlier this month I drove the entirety of California State Route 149.


CA 149 is a short 5 mile expressway completely located within Butte County.  CA 149 starts at CA 99 near Chico and travels southeast towards CA 70 near Oroville.  CA 149 was part of Legislative Route Number 87 which was created by the State Legislature in 1933 according to CAhighways.org.

CAhighways.org on CA 149

A state maintained LRN 87 appears on the 1934 State Highway Map between Chico and Oroville.

1934 State Highway Map

During the 1964 State Highway Renumbering LRN 87 between Chico and Oroville (technically Wicks Corner) was assigned CA 149.  CA 149 does not appear to have been signed in 1964.

1963 State Highway Map

1964 State Highway Map

CA 149 first appears on the 1969 State Highway Map as a signed route.

1969 State Highway Map

CA 149 was part of what was known as the "East Valley Corridor."  The East Valley Corridor consisted of CA 99, CA 70, CA 149 and CA 149 north of Sacramento which was meant to be a full corridor alternate of I-5 consisting of freeways/expressways.  Much of the East Valley Corridor was built but some notable segments like a bypass of Marysville and a segments north of Chico were never constructed to CAhighways.org.

My path on CA 149 southward towards CA 70 from CA 99 near Chico.  CA 149 maintains a flat grade with a left exit at the junction with CA 99 and begins to head southeast towards the Sierra Foothills.  Despite appearances in the photos CA 149 isn't a full freeway and includes several at-grade intersections.





CA 149 is signed as the "Lt. Larry Estes Deputy Bill Hunter Memorial Highway."



Oroville is signed as being 10 miles to the south along CA 149.


CA 149 ends at CA 70.  The ramp for CA 70 east is signed showing the highway connects to CA 191.




The junction of CA 149 and CA 70 is signed as "Wicks Corner Interchange." 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Cajon Pass; Cajon Pass Toll Road, National Old Trails Road, US Route 66/91/395 and Interstate 15

This past weekend I spent some time in Cajon Pass traversing the many historic road alignments. Cajon Pass is located in San Bernardino County, California along the San Andreas Fault.  Cajon Pass  serves the boundary line between the Mojave Desert, the San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains and San Bernardino Valley.  Cajon Pass is historically one of the most traveled transportation corridors in American California and presently is served by four rail lines, Interstate 15 and California State Route 138. While Cajon Pass is known mostly for carrying US Route 66 it has carried numerous other signed highways that have had a significant impact on regional and national road travel.  While this is my best attempt to compile everything from the best sources I could find into one single transportation history blog regarding road travel in Cajon Pass I suspect as time goes on this article will be frequently updated.  If you have any information that you ...

Pardee Dam Road

Pardee Dam is a 358-foot-high concrete structure located near Campo Seco at the Calaveras County and Amador County Line.  Pardee Dam impounds the Mokelumne River which forms the namesake Pardee Reservoir.  Pardee Dam was completed during 1929 and is part of the East Bay Municipal Utility District.  Pardee Dam is accessed by the namesake Pardee Dam Road which crosses the structure via the one-lane road seen as the blog cover photo.   Part 1; the history of Pardee Dam Road The closest community to Pardee Dam is that of Campo Seco on the Calaveras County side of the Mokelumne River.  Campo Seco was founded in 1850 by Mexican Miners who worked placer claims in Oregon Gulch during the height of the California Gold Rush.  Campo Seco would reach a population of about three hundred by 1860 spurred by the numerous mining claims in the area.  Main Street of Campo Seco flowed directly into the Campo Seco Turnpike which had been authorized by the California L...

California State Route 82/Old US Route 101 on the El Camino Real from San Francisco to Interstate 380

After completing Interstate 380 I made my way northward into the City Limits of San Francisco to drive the northernmost portion of California State Route 82. CA 82 is 52 mile State Route between I-280 in San Francisco southward to Interstate 880 in San Jose.  CA 82 is significant due to it being part of the historical surface alignment of US Route 101 and the El Camino Real. The "El Camino Real" was a Spanish Highway in Las Californias and Alta California which connected the 21 Catholic Missions along the coast.  Essentially the route of the El Camino Real was plotted out in the late 1700s from two Spanish survey expeditions.  The Missions were plotted approximately 30 miles apart along the 600 mile route so that they would be a single day journey by horse.  The El Camino Real name fell into disuse after the Mexican Revolution of 1821 but was revived by American highway promoters in the 1890s and 1900s.  Today the El Camino Real is mostly associated...