Skip to main content

The mystery of the original California State Route 83

By
A recently trip to Riverside County entailed encountering the terminus points of what was the first California State Route 83.  The first CA 83 was one of the shortest lived State Highway designations.


The original CA 83 was aligned on Legislative Route 194 between CA 79 near Aguanga north to US Route 60 in the Moreno Valley Badlands.  CA 83 was not one of the original run of Signed State Routes which were announced in a 1934 Department of Public Works Guide.

LRN 194 was added to the State Highway System in 1933 according to CAhighways.org.  LRN 194 as originally defined beginning at the Descanso-Temecula Road and ending to the north at LRN 19 which was US 60 at the intersection of what is now Gillman Springs Road and Jack Rabbit Trail.  When US 60 was extended into California in 1932 it utilized Jack Rabbit Trail and Gillman Springs Road west from Beaumont to cross the Moreno Valley Badlands.  In 1934 US 70 was co-signed with US 60 over Jack Rabbit Trail and Gillman Springs Road in the Moreno Valley Badlands which can be seen on the 1935 Gousha Highway Map of California. 


By 1936 US 60 had been moved to a new alignment through the Moreno Valley Badlands north of Jack Rabbit Trail and Gillman Springs Road.  US 70 subsequently was shifted to a co-signed route to the north on US 99.  Subsequently Jack Rabbit Trail was relinquished as a State Highway and Gillman Springs Road became an extension of LRN 194.  The new alignment of US 60 through the Moreno Valley Badlands can be seen on the 1936-37 Division of Highways Map of California.  Note; LRN 194 is shown on the 1936-37 State Highway Map as a partially constructed route with a segment of local maintenance.


By 1938 State Maintenance of LRN 194 was complete and the route appears signed as CA 83 for the first time on 1938 Division of Highways Map of California.


Interestingly the first CA 83 did not last long as by 1940 the route is shown to be signed as a realignment of CA 79.  The new alignment of CA 79 is shown replacing CA 83 on the 1940 Division of Highways Map of California.  CA 71 is shown replacing what was CA 79 west from the south terminus of CA 83 towards Temecula.


During the 1964 State Highway Renumbering CA 79 was shifted to a new alignment north of Sanderson Avenue via Lamb Canyon Road to Beaumont.  Former CA 83/CA 79 on Gillman Springs Road subsequently became the first CA 177.  These changes can be seen on 1964 Division of Highways Map of California.


The first CA 177 on Gillman Springs Road was deleted in 1965 according to CAhighways.org.  What had been CA 83/LRN 194 south of Hemet was deleted from the State Highway System the year.  The 1966 Division of Highways Map of California shows CA 79 moved to the west towards Temecula (which ironically put it back on it's original corridor multiplexed with CA 71) onto a new alignment.   

As stated above on my recent trip to Riverside County I encountered both terminus points of what was the first CA 83.  The photo below is from CA 60 (former US 60) westbound in the Moreno Valley Badlands approaching Gillman Springs Road.  US 60 would have looked substantially different in the time of the first CA 83 as it was expanded to a limited access facility in the 1950s.


The photos below are from CA 79 eastbound approaching Sage Road which was the south terminus of the first CA 83.



The designation of CA 83 was recycled during the 1964 State Highway Renumbering as a Route between CA 71 and CA 30.  CAhighways.org has a photo of one of the original CA 83 State Highway shields which can be seen on this Page.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

By
The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

By
This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...
Post a Comment
Read more