Skip to main content

California State Route 202

By
After crossing my way over the Sierras via California State Route 155 and Caliente-Bodfish Road I made my way up to Tehachapi to drive the original alignment of US Route 466.  Before heading out on the former alignment of US 466 I went on a side trip on CA 202.






CA 202 is a 11 mile state highway completely contained within Tehachapi Valley in Kern County.  CA 202 begins near Tehachapi Pass at CA 58 exit 148.





Tehachapi is located one mile away on CA 202 from CA 58.


Heading westward CA 202 begins on Tucker Road which is also part of the CA 58 Business Route.  Interestingly CA 58 Business co-signed on CA 202 to Techachapi Boulevard and even has an "end" placard at it's mainline route.






CA 202/CA 58BL crosses over the Union Pacific Railroad and Tehachapi Creek into Tehachapi.  CA 58BL splits east on Tehechapi Boulevard whereas CA 202 stays on Tucker Road.




CA 202 splits west on Valley Boulevard towards the California Correctional Facility.  Valley Boulevard was originally a section of US 466.






At Woodford-Tehachapi Road US 466 would have split north towards Tehachapi Pass.  CA 202 continues west on Valley Boulevard but it's original routing began southward on Woodford-Tehachapi Road.





The California Correctional Facility is listed as being 5 miles west of Woodford-Tehachapi Road.





There isn't much to CA 202 west of Tehachapi.  The route is clearly meant to funnel traffic as quickly as possible to Cummings Valley Road and the California Correctional Facility.







CA 202 cuts south towards the California Correctional Facility where it ends outside the main gate.






Prior to the 1964 State Highway renumbering the route of CA 202 was unsigned Legislative Route 144.  LRN 144 was one of the 1933 adoptions into the State Highway system according to CAhighways.org.

CAhighways.org on LRN 144

Very little of modern CA 202 is on the original alignment but rather on a bypass route to the north.  Originally LRN 144/CA 202 would have begun at US 466 headed south on Woodford-Tehachapi Road and used the following to reach the California Correctional Facility:

-  West on Schout Road
-  South on Backes Lane
-  West on Highline Road
-  North on Banducci Road
-  West on Valley Boulevard
-  West on Cummings Valley Road
-  South on Bear Valley Road

The original alignment of LRN 144/CA 202 can be observed on the 1935 California Division of Highways Map of Kern County.

1935 Kern County Highway Map

According to topographical maps I've looked on historicaerials it seems that CA 202 was moved east into Tehachapi via Curry Street, Tehachapi Boulevard, and Tucker Road between 1965 and 1967 as the CA 58 expressway was being built.  The State Highway Maps for 1966 and 1967 don't show enough detail to be certain but I linked them below anyways.

1966 State Highway Map

1967 State Highway Map 

It seems that CA 202 was shifted onto Valley Boulevard west of Woodford-Tehachapi Road some time in the 1990s.  The 1990 State Highway Map shows CA 202 on it's original routing but on Valley Boulevard in 1995 on historicaerials.

1990 State Highway Map

Topographical maps show CA 202 on Tehachapi Boulevard and Curry Street as late on 2012.  It would seem that the shift in CA 202 completely onto Tucker Road happened in the last couple years. 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve - Thurmond

By
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is best known for whitewater rafting and other forms of adventure tourism.  Yet, found in the hollows and isolated valleys are quiet farms and former coal mining towns.  Well off the beaten path and isolated from much of its surroundings, Thurmond provides a unique view into Central West Virginia's industrial past. Thurmond began as a railroad town in the late 1800s.  Sparked by the arrival of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and the local coal industry, Thurmond quickly grew into a sizeable transportation and coal center.  When it incorporated as a town in 1903, Thurmond was a full-fledged community - home to two banks, two hotels, and many other services and stores. A CSX freight train passes the old coaling tower in Thurmond.  It was here that many steam locomotives would refill and refuel. Thurmond was home to a C&O railyard which serviced the numerous steam engines passing through the narrow valley.  Thu...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Tale of Tollhouse Road, western California State Route 168 and failed Piute Pass Highway

By
Western California State Route 168 is entirely located in Fresno County and is linked historically to the Tollhouse Road corridor.   Tollhouse Road is one of the oldest highways in the Sierra Nevada range of Fresno County. The corridor presently begins in at Clovis Avenue in downtown Clovis and extends northeast to Huntington Lake. In 1866 the Woods Brothers established mining claims on Pine Ridge. In 1867 Fresno County would grant the brothers a toll franchise to construct a roadway to the desirable logging areas atop Pine Ridge and near Dinkey Creek. The Woods would establish a tollhouse at the start of their franchise road and lumber mill. The lumber mill attracted settlers which led to the establishment of the mountain town of Tollhouse. Fresno County would purchase the Tollhouse Road in 1878 and make it a public highway. The county would remove the tolls and incorporate the corridor into the existing county road network. Prior to the establishment of Clovis in 1...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old Dunlap Road (former California State Route 180 in Yokuts Valley)

By
When California State Route 180 was commissioned in August 1934 the alignment in took in Sierra Nevada range was very different than from today.  The original highway alignment from Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) to east Grant Grove (then part of General Grant National Park) originally followed what is now Ruth Hill Road, Dunlap Road, Pinehurst Road (modern California State Route 245), Dark Canyon Road (partially now Forest Road 14S45).  After funding fell through for the planned Kings Canyon Road the was corridor eventually picked up as a 30-mile-long cooperative project between the Division of Highways and Federal Government.  Much of current alignment of California State Route 180 bypassing Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) and Dunlap was complete by 1941.  The post-1941 alignment of California State Route 180 in Squaw Valley was shifted onto what was once Dunlap Road in Squaw Valley.  This alignment itself was later bypassed by modern California State Route...
Post a Comment
Read more