Skip to main content

California State Route 207 I & II

On my way home from the the San Francisco Bay Area I took California State Route 152 east over Pacheco Pass to California State Route 33 north towards Santa Nella.  This particular segment of California State Route 33 was once the original California State Route 207.  In this article we examine the history of both iterations of California State Route 207.


The current California State Route 207 ("CA 207") is a one mile State Highway which connects California State Route 4 near Lake Alpine to the Bear Valley Ski Area.  CA 207 is located within the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Alpine County.  


Part 1; the history of California State Route I

The original CA 207 was created during the 1964 State Highway Renumbering out of Legislative Route 121 ("LRN 121") from CA 152 north to CA 33 in Santa Nella.  The original CA 207 was a short 3 mile highway which was aligned over an important regional connecting corridor.  LRN 121 was added to the State Highway System in 1933 according to CAhighways.org.  The first CA 207 can be seen on the 1964 Division of Highways State Map



According to CAhighways.org the original CA 207 was deleted in 1972 when CA 33 was shifted onto it.  Originally CA 33 was aligned west of Los Banos to Santa Nella by way of Volta.  The new alignment of CA 33 west of Los Banos over the corridor of what was the first CA 207 can be seen on the 1975 Caltrans State Map
 

 
Part 2; a drive on what was California State Route I
 
The first CA 207 would have begun at CA 152 and run north from the expressway on Santa Nella Boulevard.




For a 3 mile route the first CA 207 had a lot going on as it would have quickly had a junction with the Medeiros Recreation Area almost immediately north of CA 152.


The first CA 207 would have crossed the O'Neill Forebay followed by Delta Mendota Canal before entering Santa Nella.




The first CA 207 would have terminated at CA 33/Henry Miller Avenue.



Part 3; the history of California State Route 207 II

According to CAhighways.org the second CA 207 was added to the State Highway System as part of 1979 Legislative Chapter 572.  The second CA 207 originally carried a definition of Lake Alpine to the Mount Reba Ski Area.  The second CA 207 first appears on the 1981 Caltrans State Highway Map.  

 

The Bear Valley Ski Area traces it's history to Harvey Blood's Toll Station on the Ebbetts Pass Road which became a tolled facility in the early 1860s.  The first written documentation referring to the area as "Bear Valley" is first cited in 1869 according to bearvalley.com.  In 1910 the Ebbetts Pass Toll Road was made a free highway as it was added to the State Highway System as Legislative Route 24 as part of the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act.  Blood's Station continued to operate until 1920 when it was sold to the Bishop Mining and Cattle Company.  

In 1952 the Orvis Family purchased 480 acres of land from the Bishop Mining and Cattle Company.  The Orvis Family later purchased 400 additional acres of Stanislaus National Forest parcels north of Bear Valley towards Mount Reba in 1963 with the intentions of building a ski resort.  The Mount Reba Ski Area opened in 1967 (along with what would become CA 207 II) for the winter ski season.  In June of 1991 the Mount Reba Ski Area was purchased and renamed to the Bear Valley Ski Area.

 

Part 4; a drive on California State Route 207 II

CA 4 eastbound intersects modern CA 207 at Postmile ALP R2.906.  CA 4 eastbound has two reassurance shields for CA 207 mounted above light posts approaching the actual junction.  




 

The 24% gradient warning for CA 4 eastbound over Ebbetts Pass can be found at the junction with modern CA 207.  The 24% grades ahead mostly apply in reality to Pacific Grade Summit but nonetheless are very real. 

Modern CA 207 travels northwest from CA 207 and has at least one reassurance shield.  Modern CA 207 is known as "Mount Reba Road" and State Maintenance ends at Postmile ALP 1.36.  CA 207 ends within view of Mount Reba.  








Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dillon Road

Dillon Road is a 34.2-mile highway located in northern Coachella Valley of Riverside County, California.  Dillon Road begins at Avenue 48 on the outskirts of Indio and ends to the west at California State Route 62 near San Gorgonio Pass.  Dillon Road was developed the 1930s as a construction road for the Colorado River Aqueduct.  Dillon Road serves as a northern bypass to much of the development of Coachella Valley.  Dillon Road is known for it's frequent dips and spectacular views of San Gorgonio Pass.   Part 1; the history of Dillon Road Dillon Road was constructed as a haul road for the Colorado River Aqueduct through Coachella Valley.  The Colorado River Aqueduct spans 242 miles from Parker Dam on the Colorado River west to Lake Mathews near Corona.  Construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct began during January 1933 near Thousand Palms and was made functional on January 7, 1939.  West of Berdoo Canyon Road the alignment of Dillon Road is largely concurrent with the Colorado

Oldtown Toll Bridge - Maryland and West Virginia

  The Oldtown Toll Bridge linking Oldtown, Maryland over the Potomac River with neighboring Green Spring, West Virginia is only one of a few truly privately owned toll bridges located in the United States. It's a simple bridge by design, as the 318 foot long Oldtown Toll Bridge is a low water bridge. Low water bridges are designed to allow water to safely and efficiently flow over the bridge deck. Additionally, a dozen concrete pedestals have been secured in the Potomac River in order to support the bridge and wooden deck. The bridge was constructed in 1937 when a gentleman by the name of Mr. Carpenter obtained the proper permits to build the Bridge through an Act of Congress. This was a blessing for residents, especially on the West Virginia side of the Potomac River, as it saved motorists commuting to Cumberland an hour in travel time. Using Mr. Carpenter's blueprints, the Army Corp of Engineers and a number of local laborers constructed the bridge and it remained under the

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road is an approximately 21-mile highway located in southeast Kern County.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road begins at Tehachapi Boulevard (former US Route 466) in Tehachapi and crosses the Tehachapi Mountains via the 4,820-foot-high Oak Creek Pass.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road enters Antelope Valley of the wider Mojave Desert and passes by the historic stage station of Willow Springs to a southern terminus at Rosamond Boulevard.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road has historic ties to the Havilah-Los Angeles Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road due to the once reliable presence of water at Willow Springs. Part 1; the history of Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road Oak Creek Pass and Willow Springs were known to the local tribes of the Tehachapi Mountains for generations.  The first documented European crossing of Oak Creek Pass was during 1776 as part of an expedition by Francisco Garces.  Oak Creek Pass is as used again by John C. Fremont during an 1844-1845 expedition to e