Skip to main content

California State Route 253

By

California State Route 253 ("CA 253") is a 17 mile State Highway located entirely in within Mendocino County.  California State Route 253 originates at US Route 101 near Ukiah and terminates at CA 128 near Boonville.




Part 1; the history of California State Route 253

According to CAhighways.org California State Route 253 was added to the State Highway System as part of 1963 Legislative Chapter 2155.  Given that California State Route 253 ("CA 253") was added by the Legislature in the run up to the 1964 State Highway Renumbering it never had a Legislative Route Number.  CA 253 first appears as a planned State Highway on the 1964 Division of Highways Map.  The planned route of CA 253 appears north of the existing Ukiah-Boonville Road.  The original route definition of CA 253 was "from Route 128 near Boonville to Route 101 near Ukiah."



The addition of a new highway between Boonville and Ukiah is mentioned in the September/October 1963 California Highways & Public Works.


The planned alignment of CA 253 was ultimately cancelled and the highway was assigned to Boonville-Ukiah Road.  CA 253 first appears on Boonville-Ukiah Road on the 1967 Division of Highways Map.


The subject of CA 253 on Boonville-Ukiah Road is addressed in the July/August 1966 California Highways & Public Works.  The history of Boonville-Ukiah Road is stated in the article to have begun in 1851 when it was known as the Anderson Valley Trail.  The article elaborates that in 1868 John Gsehwind successfully petitioned the State Legislature to upgrade the existing Anderson Valley Trail to a franchise toll road.  The Gsehwind Toll Road was primarily used to transport lumber and eventually was incorporated into Mendocino County's public road system no later than 1896.  The Gsehwind Toll Road became Boonville-Ukiah Road and was upgraded to a 10 foot width during 1896.  Boonville-Ukiah Road was further modernized beginning in 1952 under the Federal Aid Secondary program.  The article states Boonville-Ukiah Road formally became CA 253 upon the completion of the final improvement contract during March 1963.





Boonville-Ukiah Road can be seen on the 1917 California State Automobile Association Map.


Boonville-Ukiah Road can be seen as a major county highway on the 1935 California Division of Highways Map of Mendocino County.



Part 2; a drive on California State Route 253

Our drive on CA 253 begins from US 101 northbound near Ukiah.  US 101 north Exit 546 transitions onto CA 253 westbound at State Street. 





 
 
At Postmile MEN 16.863 CA 253 westbound transitions onto Boonville-Ukiah Road.   Truck traffic is given a 30 foot advisory at the transition to Boonville-Ukiah Road.


 
 
Approaching Robinson Creek CA 253 traffic is advised of 15 miles of curvy roads.  CA 253 westbound crosses Robinson Creek at approximately Postmile MEN 15.070.  Traffic is further advised that CA 128/Boonville are 16 miles westward whereas as CA 1 is 46 miles. 






CA 253 west of Robinson Creeks begins a lengthy elevation climb. 
























CA 253 westbound climbs a narrow ridge line and enters the Navarro River Watershed.  Upon reaching the Navarro River Watershed CA 253 west traffic is advised of a 9% downhill grade.  

















Upon entering the Navarro River Watershed CA 253 west traffic is advised CA 128 is 6 miles away whereas CA 1 is signed as 36 miles away.  





CA 253 west enters Bell Valley, crosses Soda Creek, and passes by a business known as "The Toll House" in what is likely a reference to the Gsehwind Toll Road.   CA 253 west follows Soda Creek to a small community known as Soda Springs at Postmile MEN 4.00.










Traffic on CA 253 west of Soda Springs is advised of another 9% downhill grade.  


CA 253 west follows the course of Soda Creek to it's terminus at CA 128 on the outskirts of Boonville. 





















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