Skip to main content

California State Route 144

This past month I drove several short State Highways in the Santa Barbara Area including California State Route 144.


The present route of CA 144 is located within the City of Santa Barbara.  Current CA 144 is approximately 1.1 miles between Salinas Street north via Sycamore Canyon Road to CA 192.


The present route of CA 144 was added to the State Highway System in 1933 as a spur of Legislative Route 80 according to CAhighways.org.  The spur of LRN 80 ran from CA 150 south via; Sycamore Canyon Road and Salinas Street to US 101/LRN 2.  The spur of LRN 80 can be seen on the 1935 California Division of Highways Map of Santa Barbara County.


During the 1964 State Highway Renumbering the spur of LRN 80 was reassigned as CA 144.  The route of CA 144 was so small in scale that it often wasn't displayed on State Highway Maps.  One of the few State Highway Map editions to clearly show CA 144 was in 2005.  The 2005 State Highway Map shows CA 144 running from US 101/CA 1 via; Milpas Street, Mason Street, Salinas Street and Sycamore Canyon Road to CA 192.


According to CAhighways.org the relinquishment of CA 144 in Santa Barbara was legislatively approved in 1999 and became effective in 2000.  At the time it appears that the City of Santa Barbara did not extend north of Salinas Street up Sycamore Canyon Road as CA 144 north from Post Mile SB 0.87 still exists.  The language of the 1999 relinquishment appears to be vague enough that the remainder of CA 144 may be deleted provided the City of Santa Barbara is willing to accept it.

My approach to CA 144 north was from US 101/CA 1 south where I joined the former alignment via Exit 96B onto South Milpas Street.







Former CA 144 north would have continued up Milpas Street under US 101/CA 1 to Mason Street.





Former CA 144 north swung east on Mason Street towards Salinas Street.  The lack of utility for a State Highway is readily apparent as it is a narrow street which passes by a school.





Former CA 144 north made a left turn onto Salinas Street.  At the roundabout located at Salinas Street and Sycamore Canyon Road CA 144 north begins at Post Mile SB 0.87.




CA 144 north follows Sycamore Canyon Road through Sycamore Canyon to CA 192 where it terminates at Post Mile SB 1.952 near the 1921 Sycamore Creek Bridge.










Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Petroleum Club Road (former California State Route 33 and US Route 399 past the Lakeview Gusher)

Petroleum Club Road is an approximately 5.3-mile rural highway located in the Sunset Oil Field of western Kern County.  This corridor was constructed as a frontage road of the Sunset Railroad and would be the site of the Lakeview Gusher in 1910.  Petroleum Club Road was the original alignment of California State Route 33 and US Route 399 between 1934-1938.  In 1938 the West Side Highway was constructed west of Lakeview Gusher and still serves as the current alignment of California State Route 33.   Part 1; the history of Petroleum Club Road Petroleum Club Road is the original highway which linked the oil communities of Maricopa and Taft.  Both cities were developed around the early boom of the Sunset Oil Field.  The early Sunset Oil Field can be seen centered along Cienega Canyon Road southwest of Buena Vista Lake in Township 11 North, Range 23 West on the 1898 Kern County Surveyors map .  In 1901 Post Office Service would be established at the Su...

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926.  Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California.  The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant.  However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.  This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes.  The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield.  In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.   ...

Rosecrans Avenue Overpass

In 1995 the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway installed the modern Rosecrans Avenue Overpass.  The current 300 feet long Polygonal Warren Through truss is the third railroad overpass structure to have been built at the intersection of Rosecrans Avenue and Aviation Boulevard.  The modern structure was proceeded by a 164.1-foot-long span built in 1964 which was a replacement for the original 1924-era overpass.  An overview of the Rosecrans Avenue Overpass The intersection of Rosecrans Avenue and Aviation Boulevard (originally Redondo Road) lies at the boundaries of three cities.  The city of Hawthorne occupies the lands east of the intersection, El Segundo occupies the northwest corner and whereas Manhattan Beach is located at the southeast corner.   Since 1924 the intersection Rosecrans Avenue and Redondo Road would be the location of a railroad overpass structure.  The original overpass was a 100-foot-long pony truss/plate girder design built by t...