Throwback Thursday; Colossal Cave and the Old Spanish Trail

Back in 2012 I visited the Colossal Cave which is located on an old alignment of the Old Spanish Auto Trail north of Vail.

There is a signed section of the Old Spanish Trail which runs from the entrance to the Colossal Cave Mountain Park northwest to Broadway Boulevard in Tucson.

I'm not certain when the Colossal Cave segment of Old Spanish Trail was in use due to maps from the time frame being sparse. What I do know is that US 80 didn't use the alignment but instead was on Old Vail Road which can be seen on this 1927 regional map. Colossal Cave can actually be seen present on the map north of Vail.

1927 Four Corners Regional Map

Colossal Cave was originally used by several Southern Arizonan tribes before being rediscovered in 1879. Colossal Cave is considered to be a dry cave and has a constant temperature close to 70F. The main cave is closed to access aside from a guided tour.

I'm fairly certain that the Old Spanish Trail was realigned upon the completion of the 1920 Cienega Creek Bridge located on Marsh Station Road. Prior to 1920 it would have been likely have been much easier route a road between Benson and Tucson which did to not cross Cienega Creek closer to the Rincon Mountains. Given that travel in Arizona even by the era of the US Routes was still largely primitive I think its safe to assume that a journey on the 1915 Old Spanish Trail was even more harrowing. Regardless information about the Cienega Creek Bridge can be found on bridgehunter.com.

Bridgehunter on Cienega Creek Bridge

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Hidden California State Route 710 and the Pasadena Gap in the Long Beach Freeway

Infamous and the subject of much controversy the Pasadena Gap in the Long Beach Freeway has long existed as a contentious topic regarding the completion of Interstate 710 and California State Route 710. While the Pasadena Gap of the Long Beach Freeway effectively has been legislatively blocked the action only came after decades of controversy. While the Pasadena Gap of the Long Beach Freeway is fairly well known what many don't know is that a small segment was actually constructed south Interstate 210 and the Foothill Freeway. This disconnected segment of the Long Beach Freeway exists as the unsigned and largely hidden California State Route 710. On June 29, 2022 the California Transportation Commission relinquished California State Route 710 to the city of Pasadena. The blog cover above depicts a southward view on the completed Pasadena stub segment of the Long Beach Freeway which ends at California Boulevard. Part 1; the history of the Pasadena Gap of the Long Beach Freewa

Deer Isle Bridge in Maine

As graceful a bridge that I ever set my eyes upon, the Deer Isle Bridge (officially known as the Deer Isle-Sedgwick Bridge) surprisingly caught my eye as I was driving around coastal Maine one Saturday afternoon. About 35 miles south of Bangor, Maine , the Deer Isle Bridge connects the Blue Hill Peninsula of Downeast Maine with Little Deer Isle over the Eggemoggin Reach on ME 15 between the towns of Sedgwick and Deer Isle . It should be noted that Little Deer Isle is connected to Deer Isle by way of a boulder lined causeway, and there is a storied regatta that takes place on the Eggemoggin Reach each summer. But the Deer Isle Bridge holds many stories, not just for the vacationers who spend part of their summer on Deer Isle or in nearby Stonington , but for the residents throughout the years and the folks who have had a hand bringing this vital link to life. The Deer Isle Bridge was designed by David Steinman and built by the Phoenix Bridge Company of Phoenixville,

Paper Highways: Proposed US Route 66 Alternate to Las Vegas, Nevada

During February 1956 the State of Nevada in concurrence with the States of California and Arizona submitted a request to the American Association of State Highway Officials to establish US Route 66 Alternate to Las Vegas. The proposed US Route 66 Alternate would have originated from mainline US Route 66 in Kingman Arizona and followed a multiplex of US Routes 93-466 to Las Vegas, Nevada. From Las Vegas, Nevada the proposed US Route 66 Alternate would have multiplexed US Routes 91-466 back to mainline US Route 66 in Barstow, California. The request to establish US Route 66 Alternate was denied during June 1956 due to it being completely multiplexed with other US Routes. This blog will examine the timeline of the US Route 66 Alternate proposal to Las Vegas, Nevada. The history of the proposed US Route 66 Alternate to Las Vegas, Nevada On February 15, 1956, the Nevada State Highway Engineer in a letter to the American Association of State Highways Officials (AASHO) advising that six c

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