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California State Route 135

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After completing California State Route 227 I headed south into Santa Barbra County to check out an old alignment of US 101 which is now partially incorporated into California State Route 135.






CA 135 is a 21 mile state highway looping from US 101 in Santa Maria southeast to Los Alamos.  As stated above the alignment of CA 135 was largely part of early US 101 which was replaced in the 1930s.  CA 135 is signed along Broadway in Santa Maria and is co-signed as the US 101 Business Route within the city.






CA 135 has a junction with CA 166 in downtown Santa Maria.  Interestingly there is a large pedestrian bridge south of the CA 166 junction on CA 135.





CA 135 crosses a set of rails in downtown Santa Maria and approaches Betteravia Road where it once met former CA 176.  CA 176 was a short route which ended in Sisquoc to the east.






CA 135 becomes an expressway exiting Santa Maria on the approach southward to Orcutt.  The original alignment of CA 135 and US 101 would have been on Orcutt Road which is a front road east of the modern expressway.






In Orcutt CA 135 becomes a freeway.  The freeway grade of CA 135 closely follows the original alignment of US 101 which was on Graciosa Road which runs next to the northbound lanes.







CA 135 merges in with CA 1 at this overpass.  There is no access for CA 135 southbound traffic to merge onto CA 1 north.





CA 135 is briefly multiplexed with CA 1.  The CA 135 freeway segment largely exists to flow traffic to Vandenberg Air Force Base.  Vandenberg traffic continues southward towards Lompoc on CA 1 whereas as CA 135 continues south towards Los Alamos.






South of CA 1 the alignment of CA 135 merges back down to two-lanes and continues southeast towards Los Alamos. 







CA 135 becomes Bell Street in Los Alamos.  Bell Street is directly aligned with the US 101 expressway west of Los Alamos which indicates to me that it was likely part of the 1930s realignment.  




Los Alamos was founded in 1876 out of various ranch land parcels.  Centennial Street was plotted as the main North/South street in Los Alamos due to the community being founded on the American Centennial.  Bell Street carries CA 135 through the community to the to the US 101 expressway where the route ends on San Antonio Boulevard.




As stated above CA 135 was originally a segment of US 101 from Santa Maria to Los Alamos.  It appears that US 101 shifted to the modern expressway alignment some time between 1930 and 1932 as a new state highway can be seen by comparing the two state highway maps from those years.  US 101 stayed on Broadway in Santa Maria but entered the city on Santa Maria Way.

1930 State Highway Map

1932 State Highway Map 

The full modern expressway bypass of Santa Maria that US 101 utilizes first appears on the 1963 State Highway Map.  Interestingly it appears that all of the former routing of US 101 between Los Alamos and Santa Maria remained a branch of Legislative Route 2 until the 1964 State Highway Renumbering.  The change of alignment of US 101 can be seen on the 1963 State Highway Map and the change to CA 135 appears on the 1964 State Highway Map. 

1963 State Highway Map

1964 State Highway Map

The 1966 State Highway Map shows an expressway alignment of CA 135 south of Santa Maria.  CA 1 is still shown on the Harris Grade southward to Lompoc.

1966 State Highway Map
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