Skip to main content

Former California State Route 231

By
This past month I drove the entirety of former California State Route 231 west of Mecca in Coachella Valley of Riverside County.


Former CA 231 was an approximately 4 mile State Highway which connected former CA 195 west on 66th Avenue to former CA 86 in Valerie.



Part 1; history of the California State Route 231 designation

The first CA 231 was initially added to the State Highway System as Legislative Route 204 in 1935 according to CAhighways.  The future route of LRN 204 appears on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Riverside County as a heavily traveled County Highway.  


LRN 204 first appears on the 1936-37 Division of Highways Map aligned between US 99 and CA 111.



During the 1964 Highway Renumbering LRN 204 was reassigned as CA 231.  CA 231 first appears routed from CA 86 and CA 195 on the 1964 Division of Highways Map.


According to CAhighways the first CA 231 was deleted from the State Highway System in 1972.  The 1975 Caltrans State Highway Map is the first not to display the original CA 231.


CA 231 was recycled as a designation for a new route between I-5 in Tustin and CA 91 in Irvine according to CAhighways.  The second CA 231 designation first appears on the 1990 Caltrans State Highway Map.


According to CAhighways the proposed route of the second CA 231 was extended via transfer from CA 241 in 1991.  Part of the original planned route of the second CA 231 split into the planned alignment of the second CA 261.  In 1996 the second CA 231 designation was deleted and it's future alignment was eventually assumed by CA 241 and CA 133.


Part 2; a drive on the original California State Route 231

My approach to former CA 231 was via what was CA 195 on 66th Avenue west of Mecca.  At Pierce Street CA 195 would have swung southward whereas CA 231 continued westward on 66th Avenue.   Former CA 231 westward on 66th Avenue faces the Santa Rosa Mountains.



Former CA 231 west on 66th Avenue passes by the Torres-Martinez Indian Reservation at Martinez Road.  The Torres-Martinez Reservation is home to the Cahuilla Tribe and the small community of Martinez was a stage stop on the Bradshaw Trail.





Former CA 231 would have continued west on 66th Avenue to Harrison Street in Valerie.  Harrison Street once carried US Route 99 before the 1964 State Highway Renumbering and CA 86 until it was moved to an expressway grade.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

By
  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...
Post a Comment
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway

By
From 2017 through to early 2019 I drove the majority of the California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway from CA 89 southwest to CA 99. CA 70 is an approximately 178.5 mile state highway which starts at US 395 near the Nevada State Line and travels west through the Feather River Canyon to CA 99.  CA 70 is often referred to as the Feather River Highway" given it's close association with the river.  Historically CA 70 was previously signed as US 40A and CA 24.  The Legislative Routes prior to the 1964 California Highway Renumbering that made up the current route of CA 70 are as follows: -  Legislative Route Number 21 from US 395 westward to Oroville. -  LRN 87 from Oroville south to Marysville. -  LRN 232 from Marysville to the current junction with CA 99.  CA 70 was even dual signed with CA 99 into Sacramento on what was LRN 232 for a time. The change from US 40A/LRN 21/LRN 87/LRN 232 can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Ma...
Post a Comment
Read more