Skip to main content

California State Route 185 from Interstate 238 to CA 112

While on a recent Bay Area trip I drove a portion of California State Route 185 from Interstate 238 in Ashland to CA 112 in downtown San Leandro.


Prior to recent relinquishment in the City of Hayward the route of CA 185 was a 10 mile State Highway.  CA 185 once began at CA 92/CA 238 in downtown Hayward and headed northwest to CA 77 in Oakland on 14th Street.

The route of CA 185 was part of LRN 105 which was defined by the state legislature in 1933.  The route of LRN 105 incorporated much of what is now CA 92 and the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge.  North out of Hayward liked used the following route:

-  From Mission Boulevard from Foothill Boulevard north out of the City of Hayward.
-  14th Street through Ashland and San Leandro into Oakland.
-  14th Street to 44th Avenue.
-  44th Avenue to 12th Street.
-  12th Street to Lake Merit Boulevard which was part of LRN 5.  LRN 5 out of Oakland was part of US 101E by 1929 and later US 50 when it was extended to Oakland in 1935.

The original routing of LRN 105 from Hayward to Oakland can be seen on the 1934 State Highway Map.

1934 State Highway Map 

By 1935 LRN 105 was extended into downtown Oakland as part of the highway shifts for the construction of the Bay Bridge on the following alignments. 

-  12th Street to 8th Street.
-  8th Street through what is now Laney College to Fallon Street.
-  Fallon Street to 7th Street.
-  7th Street to a terminus at Adeline Street in downtown Oakland.

The original alignment of LRN 105 can be seen on the 1935 California Division of Highways Map of Alameda.

1935 Alameda County Highway Map

CA 13 in 1934 was routed on LRN 105 from Washington Street and 14th Street in downtown San Leandro into Oakland.  CA 13 was replaced by CA 17 likely by 1936 according to CAhighways.org.  CA 17 followed LRN 105 into downtown Oakland where an extension routed it on Cypress Street to US 40/50 at the Bay Bridge.   The Cyrpress alignment of LRN 105 can be seen completed as part of CA 17 on the 1938 State Highway Map.  The extension of LRN 105 was likely completed on Cypress by 1936 when the Bay Bridge opened.

1938 State Highway Map

By 1950 part of the Nimitz Freeway on LRN 69 had been completed from LRN 105/CA 17 east of Fallon Street in Oakland.

1950 State Highway Map

By 1953 CA 17/LRN 69 was shifted onto the Nimitz Freeway from Fallon Street eastward out of Oakland.  CA 17 remained on LRN 105 on 7th Street and Cypress Street westward to US 40/50.

1953 State Highway Map

By 1957 CA 17 was shifted to the fully completed Nimitz Freeway and LRN 105 was cut back to High Street close to where CA 185 presently terminates.

1957 State Highway Map

During the 1964 State Highway Renumbering LRN 105 between Hayward and Oakland was assigned CA 185.

1963 State Highway Map

1964 State Highway Map

According to CAhighways.org in 2010 the legislature authorized CA 185 to be relinquished between Foothill Boulevard and A Street in Hayward.  The relinquishment was extended to the northern City limit in 2015.  In 2017 additional legislative action authorized a future relinquishment of CA 185 in unincorporated Alameda County and the City of San Leandro in 2018.  It would seem that it is likely that in the near future that CA 185 will cease to be a State Highway.

CAhighways.org on CA 185

My drive on CA 185 started from I-238 eastbound at Exit 15 for Mission Boulevard/14th Street.




I-238 Exit 15 actually puts traffic onto Lewelling Boulevard.  Traffic headed towards CA 185 must turn left towards 14th Street.



CA 185 appears to not be signed on 14th Street any longer.  CA 185 north crosses below I-238 and enters San Leandro near Fairmont Drive.






CA 185 north follows 14th Street through downtown San Leandro where it meets CA 112 at unsigned junction at Davis Street.  CA 17 originally reached LRN 105 at the intersection of 14th Street, Davis Street and Washington Street.  Washington Street would have meet 14th Street and Davis Street on the far left in the last photo below.  Washington Street in downtown San Leandro is now mostly a plaza and no longer a through street.








Comments

Unknown said…
Your article on CA 185 mentions the town of Ashland. I was puzzled by this, I looked it up and sure enough there is an Ashland nestled in between Castro Valley and San Lorenzo. I have lived in the Bay Area 40+ years, driven thru that area many times, and never heard about Ashland before. So I learned something new today!

Popular posts from this blog

Old River Lock & Control Structure (Lettsworth, LA)

  The Old River Control Structure (ORCS) and its connecting satellite facilities combine to form one of the most impressive flood control complexes in North America. Located along the west bank of the Mississippi River near the confluence with the Red River and Atchafalaya River nearby, this structure system was fundamentally made possible by the Flood Control Act of 1928 that was passed by the United States Congress in the aftermath of the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927 however a second, less obvious motivation influenced the construction here. The Mississippi River’s channel has gradually elongated and meandered in the area over the centuries, creating new oxbows and sandbars that made navigation of the river challenging and time-consuming through the steamboat era of the 1800s. This treacherous area of the river known as “Turnbull’s Bend” was where the mouth of the Red River was located that the upriver end of the bend and the Atchafalaya River, then effectively an outflow

Interstate 10S and the original Interstate 110 in California

Interstate 10S is a short spur of Interstate 10 along San Bernardino Freeway in downtown Los Angeles.  Interstate 10S begins at the Santa Ana Freeway (US Route 101) and extends east to Interstate 5 where it merges into mainline Interstate 10.  Interstate 10S is one of the oldest freeway segments in Los Angeles having been part of US Routes 60, 70 and 99 when it was part of the corridor of the Ramona Expressway.  The current corridor of Interstate 10S was assigned as Chargeable Corridor H following the passage of the 1956 Federal Highway Aid Act.  Interstate 110 was a short-lived designation which comprised the segment San Bernardino Freeway from US Route 101 to Interstate 5 between 1964-1968.  The original Interstate 110 was dropped as a Chargeable Corridor during 1965 and consolidated as Interstate 10S during 1968.   The original Interstate 110 can be seen as the blog cover photo as it was featured on the 1964 Division of Highways Map.  Below the entire 0.65-mile length of Interstate

Vicksburg Bridge (Vicksburg, MS)

  Located a few hundred feet downriver from the Old Vicksburg Bridge, the Vicksburg Bridge, or the “New” Bridge, serves as the city’s vehicular crossing of the Mississippi River on the main highway connecting Vicksburg with northeastern Louisiana to the west and the state capital of Jackson to the east. The completion of the original Vicksburg Bridge in 1930 was seen as a huge success and the bridge proved to be a profitable entity for both road and railroad interests along the path of the Dixie Overland Highway and the subsequent US Highway 80 corridor. In the years after the creation of the National Interstate Highway System, planning commenced on a new bridge at the site that would relieve the congestion on the existing bridge while providing for a more modern crossing of the river that would be safe for all vehicles. The construction of the new bridge at Vicksburg was completed in 1973 and its design intentionally mimics that of its predecessor nearby. This was due in large part