Skip to main content

Un-constructed California State Route 235

On my frequent travels through Stockton over the years on California State Route 99 and Interstate 5 I have noted the oddity of un-constructed California State Route 235.  CA 235 was meant to connect CA 99 to I-5 via what is now Hammer Lane.


According to CAhighways.org the precursor route to un-built CA 235 was planned as LRN 260 which was adopted in 1959.

CAhighways.org on LRN 260

The planned route of LRN 260 first appears on the 1960 State Highway City Insert and is shown north of Stockton intersecting Lower Sacramento Street and Thorton Street heading west from US 99/US 50/LRN 4 to LRN 238 (future I-5).

1960 State Highway Map City Insert

When LRN 260 was initially designated it wasn't long before Signed County Route J8 had been applied over Hammer Lane west from US 99/US 50 to Thorton Street in 1960.  J8 continued northward onto a terminus in south Sacramento.

CAhighways.org on Signed County Route J8

At the time LRN 260 and CR J8 had been created Hammer Lane only existed west from US 99 to Thorton Street.  By the 1964 State Highway Renumbering LRN 260 had been re-designated as part of the future CA 235.  This change can been seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Map City Insert to the 1964 Edition.

1963 State Highway Map City Insert

1964 State Highway Map City Insert

For reference even the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Joaquin County shows Hammer Lane extending west from US 99/US 50 to Thorton Street.

1935 San Joaquin County Highway Map

According to CAhighways.org before Hammer Lane was extended to I-5 the traversable route of un-built CA 235 was listed as Eight Mile Road.  According to CAhighways.org San Joaquin County dropped interest in CA 235 November of 1993 when Eight Mile Road was adopted as a County Maintained arterial street.  Interestingly the un-built CA 235 shows on the 1990 State Highway Map City Insert still being aligned over Hammer Lane.

1990 State Highway Map City Insert

For reference Hammer Lane appears to have been completed to I-5 was the route is shown extended west to the Interstate on Historicaerials.com by comparing the 1977 topographical map of Stockton to the 1980 edition.

Despite not being actively sought by San Joaquin County the planned route of CA 235 never has been legislatively dropped and appears on the 2005 State Highway Map City Insert.

2005 State Highway Map City Insert

For reference Hammer Lane is accessible from CA 99 Exit 258 and I-5 Exit 478.  The photos below are from CA 99 northbound approaching Hammer Lane. 




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The case to move Interstate 73 in Southern Ohio onto US 33

Every decade or so, Ohio pushes to revisit the proposed Interstate 73 that would connect Michigan to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  It's been happening since Congress legislated the route in 1991.  Within Ohio, Interstate 73 generally follows the US 23 corridor from Portsmouth through Columbus to Toledo, and into Michigan. Since High Priority Corridor Five was created , Ohio has really done nothing to move forward with Interstate 73.  Sure, there have been feasibility studies here and there.  But actual dollars and construction just haven't occurred. The US 33 Nelsonville Bypass appears to have been built to Interstate standards. However, Ohio has been slowly upgrading US 33 to a full freeway through Southeastern Ohio.  Bypasses of Lancaster and Nelsonville opened in 2004 and 2013, respectively.  Other sections of two-lane road are being twinned, some to freeway or, at a minimum, to expressway standards.  Currently, a $274 million widening project in...

Local Sign Find - The last remnant of Business Interstate 95 between Kenly and Rocky Mount , NC

As you head north on Interstate 95 at Exit 107 for Kenly and US 301, you'll notice something odd about the overhead sign for the exit.  Peeling off the sign for all that can see is the word 'NORTH' off-center from the US 301.  This old sign (probably close to original from when this section of I-95 opened - more on that in a little bit) gives a hint to a short-lived Business Interstate Route that ran from here to Rocky Mount. The last hint of the Kenly-Wilson-Rocky Mount Business I-95 (Shaun White - August 2020) Interstate 95 in North Carolina has a unique history.  But one of the overlooked and forgotten pieces of Interstate 95 in North Carolina is the 38 mile section between Kenly and Rocky Mount.  When opened to traffic in late 1978, it was the next to last piece of Interstate 95 in North Carolina to open replacing a four lane US 301 from Battleboro through Rocky Mount and Wilson to eventually tying back into the Interstate in Kenly. Though it was not delayed in l...

Nostalgia fast food with style - Returning to Rax

Nostalgia. It sells. It evokes, and more accurately, warps memories of days gone by.  Things were better, simpler, and we eat it up. Nostalgia can make you drive three hours and over a hundred miles out of your way just to reconnect with a dying fast-food restaurant you last enjoyed in the early to mid-90s.  That person was me - that restaurant was Rax. I could go on about Rax's history, but in short, Rax was briefly a very popular roast beef fast-food chain.  Growing up in the 80s and early 90s in Western PA, Rax was the good fast-food spot.  The milkshakes.  (Personally, the chocolate chip milkshake was heaven.)  Uncle Alligator Kids Meal with the chocolate chip cookie. Take that McDonald's Happy Meal!  The fancy salad and hot foods bar.  Going to Rax was special.  Like so many similar restaurants, various investments, management decisions, etc., led Rax to almost disappear overnight.  By the time I graduated college in late 1999, abou...