Skip to main content

California State Route 197

By
Back during 2014 I drove California State Route 197 while exploring rural Del Norte County.  This article traces the history of the short but albeit scenic CA 197.


CA 197 is a 7 mile north/south State Highway signed along North Bank Road.  CA 197 connects US 199 along the Smith River near Hiouchi to US 101 near Fort Dick.



Part 1; the history of California State Route 197

Compared to nearby US 199 the backstory of CA 197 is far more mundane.  While US 199 was built upon the bones of what was the Gasquet Toll Road to Oregon Mountain the route of CA 197 has a considerably less ambitious origin.  North Bank Road was added to the State Highway System during 1933 as Legislative Route 81 ("LRN 81").  LRN 81 simply was a connecting highway between US 199/LRN 1 north to US 101/LRN 71 and can be seen on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Del Norte County.


LRN 81 was an adoption of the already existing North Bank Road.  North Bank Road can be seen on the 1917 California State Automobile Association Map of California.


During the 1964 State Highway Renumbering LRN 81 was reassigned as CA 197.  CA 197 can be seen appearing for the first time on the 1964 Division of Highways State Map.


CA 197 first appears to have been signed circa 1969 as indicated by the Division of Highways State Map from said year.



Part 2; a virtual tour of California State Route 197

Our virtual tour of CA 197 begins from US 199 westbound.  US 199 westbound meets CA 197 northbound at approximately Post Mile DN 4.420.  CA 197 traffic is advised the highway is signed on North Bank Road as a cut-off to US 101 headed towards Oregon State Line.  Note; all below images are ripped from Google Street View as I did not have the presence in mind to take photos during 2014. 


CA 197 north traffic is advised that Ruby Van Deventer County Park is 4 miles away.   US 101 is signed as 7 miles away on CA 197 northbound.  The Oregon State Line signed as 17 miles away. 



 
At Post Mile R1.629 CA 197 north meets it's original alignment at Tan Oak Drive.  The "R" suffix in the Post Mile designation indicates that CA 197 is on it's first realignment after the 1964 Highway Renumbering.


Upon crossing Peacock Creek CA 197 north meets the back end of it's former Tan Oak Drive at Post Mile R2.192.


CA 197 north enters the a heavily wooded area along the east bank of the Smith River.  At Post Mile DN 4.500 CA 197 north reaches Ruby Van Deventer County Park.






As CA 197 north approaches US 101 it occasionally closes onto the north bank of the Smith River (hence the name North Bank Road). 



 
CA 197 northbound terminates at US 101 at Post Mile DN 7.08.  The north terminus of CA 197 doesn't carry an end placard and is controlled by a simple pair of dual stop signs.   




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I-40 rockslide uncovers old debates on highway

By
The Asheville Citizen-Times continues to do a great job covering all the angles of the Interstate 40 Haywood County rock slide. An article in Sunday's edition provides a strong historical perspective on how the Pigeon River routing of Interstate 40 came about. And perhaps most strikingly, in an article that ran just prior to the highway's opening in the fall of 1968, how engineers from both Tennessee and North Carolina warned "...that slides would probably be a major problem along the route for many years." On February 12, 1969, not long after the Interstate opened, the first rock slide that would close I-40 occurred. Like many other Interstates within North Carolina, Interstate 40 through the mountains has a history prior to formation of the Interstate Highway System and was also a heated political battle between local communities. The discussion for a road that would eventually become Interstate 40 dates back to the 1940's as the idea for interregional high
2 comments
Read more

Mines Road

By
Mines Road is an approximately twenty-eight-mile highway located in the rural parts of the Diablo Range east of the San Francisco Bay Area.  Mines Road begins in San Antonio Valley in Santa Clara County and terminates at Tesla Road near Livermore of Alameda County.  The highway essentially is a modern overlay of the 1840s Mexican haul trail up Arroyo Mocho known as La Vereda del Monte.  The modern corridor of Mines Road took shape in the early twentieth century following development of San Antonio Valley amid a magnesite mining boom.  Part 1; the history of Mines Road Modern Mines Road partially overlays the historic corridor used by La Vereda del Monte (Mountain Trail).  La Vereda del Monte was part of a remote overland route through the Diablo Range primarily used to drive cattle from Alta California to Sonora.  The trail was most heavily used during the latter days of Alta California during the 1840s. La Vereda del Monte originated at Point of Timber between modern day Byron and Bre
Post a Comment
Read more

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

By
When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced from Bates Station owner/operator George Ba
Post a Comment
Read more