Skip to main content

Former California State Route 231

This past month I drove the entirety of former California State Route 231 west of Mecca in Coachella Valley of Riverside County.


Former CA 231 was an approximately 4 mile State Highway which connected former CA 195 west on 66th Avenue to former CA 86 in Valerie.



Part 1; history of the California State Route 231 designation

The first CA 231 was initially added to the State Highway System as Legislative Route 204 in 1935 according to CAhighways.  The future route of LRN 204 appears on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Riverside County as a heavily traveled County Highway.  


LRN 204 first appears on the 1936-37 Division of Highways Map aligned between US 99 and CA 111.



During the 1964 Highway Renumbering LRN 204 was reassigned as CA 231.  CA 231 first appears routed from CA 86 and CA 195 on the 1964 Division of Highways Map.


According to CAhighways the first CA 231 was deleted from the State Highway System in 1972.  The 1975 Caltrans State Highway Map is the first not to display the original CA 231.


CA 231 was recycled as a designation for a new route between I-5 in Tustin and CA 91 in Irvine according to CAhighways.  The second CA 231 designation first appears on the 1990 Caltrans State Highway Map.


According to CAhighways the proposed route of the second CA 231 was extended via transfer from CA 241 in 1991.  Part of the original planned route of the second CA 231 split into the planned alignment of the second CA 261.  In 1996 the second CA 231 designation was deleted and it's future alignment was eventually assumed by CA 241 and CA 133.


Part 2; a drive on the original California State Route 231

My approach to former CA 231 was via what was CA 195 on 66th Avenue west of Mecca.  At Pierce Street CA 195 would have swung southward whereas CA 231 continued westward on 66th Avenue.   Former CA 231 westward on 66th Avenue faces the Santa Rosa Mountains.



Former CA 231 west on 66th Avenue passes by the Torres-Martinez Indian Reservation at Martinez Road.  The Torres-Martinez Reservation is home to the Cahuilla Tribe and the small community of Martinez was a stage stop on the Bradshaw Trail.





Former CA 231 would have continued west on 66th Avenue to Harrison Street in Valerie.  Harrison Street once carried US Route 99 before the 1964 State Highway Renumbering and CA 86 until it was moved to an expressway grade.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

North Carolina Continues to Move Forward with Rail

2023 and the first half of 2024 have seen continued growth in North Carolina's passenger rail system.  From increased daily trains from Raleigh to Charlotte, federal funds for studying additional corridors, and receiving a historic grant to begin the construction of high-speed rail between Raleigh and Richmond, the last 18 months have been a flurry of activity at NCDOT's Rail Division.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg. As ridership and routes increase - the engine of North Carolina passenger rail trains will become a more common sight. (Adam Prince) Increased Passenger Train Service: On July 10, 2023, a fourth Piedmont round-trip rail service between Raleigh and Charlotte commenced.  The four Piedmont trains plus the daily Carolinian (to Washington, DC, and New York) bring the total of trains serving the two cities daily to five. The current daily Piedmont and Carolinian schedule between Charlotte and Raleigh (NCDOT) The result was over 641,000 passengers utilized pa

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D

The Midway Palm and Pine of US Route 99

Along modern day California State Route 99 south of Avenue 11 just outside the City limits of Madera one can find the Midway Palm and Pine in the center median of the freeway.  The Midway Palm and Pine denotes the halfway point between the Mexican Border and Oregon State Line on what was US Route 99.  The Midway Palm is intended to represent Southern California whereas the Midway Pine is intended to represent Northern California.  Pictured above the Midway Palm and Pine can be seen from the northbound lanes of the California State Route 99 Freeway.   This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page The history of the Midway Palm and Pine The true timeframe for when the Midway Palm and Pine (originally a Deadora Cedar Tree) were planted is unknown.  In fact, the origin of the Midway Palm and Pine w