Skip to main content

California State Route 126; from CA 23 east to Santa Clarita

This past month I drove a segment of California State Route 126 from CA 23 in Fillmore east to Santa Clarita.


CA 126 in present form is a 47 mile east/west State Highway which has a western terminus in Ventura at US 101 and an eastern terminus on Newhall Ranch Road in Santa Clarita.  CA 126 was created on Legislative Route Number 79 in 1934.  LRN 79 was created in 1931 which followed the Santa Clara River between LRN 2/US 101 in Ventura east to LRN 4/US 99 in Castaic.

CAhighways.org on LRN 79

1934 Department of Public Works Guide announcing the State Highways

The original route of CA 126 as defined in 1934 used the following alignment from Ventura eastward:

-  From US 101/LRN 2 in Ventura east on modern day Telegraph Road to Steckle Drive in Santa Paula.
-  Steckle Drive to Main Street in Santa Paula.
-  Main Street to Telegraph Road.
-  Telegraph Road to Ventura Street in Fillmore.
-  Ventura Street to Telegraph Road.
-  Telegraph Road to Edwards Canyon Road.
-  Edwards Canyon Road to Pacific Avenue.
-  Pacific Avenue to Main Street in Piru.
-  Main Street to Via Fustero in Piru.
-  Via Fustero to Center Street in Piru.
-  Center Street to Telegraph Road.
-  Telegraph Road to the Los Angeles County line.
-  From the Los Angeles County line Henry Mayo Drive.
-  Henry Mayo Drive to US 99 on The Old Road near Castaic. 

The above alignment above was gradually straightened and is still part of CA 126 on the segments not on the Santa Paula Freeway.  The above alignment can be seen on the 1935 California Division of Highways Maps of Ventura County and Los Angeles County. 

1935 Ventura County Highway Map 

1935 Los Angeles County Highway Map

CA 126 appears to have been temporarily extended into downtown Ventura in 1963 via Main Street when US 101 was shifted to the Ventura Freeway.

1963 State Highway Map

In 1964 the route of CA 126 was extended from US 99 (modern I-5) east to what had been US 6 (modern CA 14) near Newhall Pass on a previously unsigned portion of LRN 79.  1964 is also notable since the first segment of the Santa Paula Freeway alignment of CA 126 between US 101 and CA 118 is shown complete.  In full scope Santa Paula Freeway was intended to be built from the Ventura Freeway east to the Golden State Freeway.

1964 State Highway Map

For reference LRN 79 had been extended in 1939 over a former segment of LRN 4 between Castaic and Newhall.  This partial section of CA 126 was relinquished in 2001 but carries historical significance as it was part of early US 99 leading to the Old Ridge Route.  More on this segment of CA 126 east from I-5 to CA 14 near Newhall Pass can be found in Chapter 11 of the Legend of the Ridge Route blog.

Legend of the Ridge Route

The 1967 State Highway Map shows the current route of the Santa Paula Freeway between Ventura and Santa Paula as complete.

1967 State Highway Map

Presently there is plans to build a new alignment of CA 126 from I-5 east through Santa Clarita to CA 14 known as the Santa Clarita Veterans Parkway.  The Santa Clarita Veterans Parkway was originally conceived as a freeway proposal by Caltrans in 1990.  The freeway was ultimately rejected and a new plan known as the Cross-Town Connector was drafted in 2005 which became known as the Santa Clarita Veterans Parkway by 2016.

CAhighways.org on CA 126

My approach to CA 126 east was from CA 23 north in Fillmore of Ventura County.  CA 126 east of CA 23 is signed on Ventura Street in Fillmore and is signed as 19 miles Santa Clarita.


CA 126 east of Fillmore becomes Telegraph Road and crosses a set of rails.






CA 126 east traverses the north bank of the Santa Clara River towards Santa Clarita.  East of Sycamore Road CA 126 on Telegraph Road crosses the rails a second time.







As CA 126 east enters the outskirts of Piru the highway passes by it's former alignment on Main Street.  Main Street is signed as access to the Lake Piru Recreation Area.




Modern CA 126 east bypasses Piru and picks up the other end of the original highway at Center Street.



CA 126 east of Piru passes by Rancho Camulos which was constructed in the 1850s off of a previous Mexican Land Grant.




CA 126 east continues on Telegraph Road to the Los Angeles County line.








CA 126 east follows Henry Mayo Drive to I-5 on the outskirts of Santa Clairta.















CA 126 east terminates just past I-5 in Santa Clarita on Newhall Ranch Road.



Comments

Gary Ansok said…
I think your original routing of CA 126 in Fillmore can be clarified.

Looking at the 1935 Ventura County map, I think it's clear that the route at that time followed Telegraph Rd to (current) Old Telegraph Rd into Fillmore, not connecting to Ventura St west of town.

From there, I assume it followed A Street south for a block or two -- whether to Santa Clara St or Ventura St isn't clear (though it looks more like Santa Clara St to me), and from there to Telegraph Rd east.

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