Skip to main content

Siskiyou County Route A12; 99-97 Cutoff

By

Siskiyou County is home to one of the more interestingly named Sign County Routes in California; County Route A12 the 99-97 Cutoff.  

County Route A12 ("A12") is a 17.90 mile Sign County Route completely contained with Siskiyou County.  A12 is aligned between former US Route 99 ("US 99") near Grenada and US 97 to the east near the foot of Mount Shasta.  A12's designation of 99-97 Cutoff denotes that it was meant to serve a connector route between US 99 and US 97.  Despite US 99 no longer existing as a State Highway the routing of A12 still begins at it rather than Interstate 5 ("I-5").  The below image from cahighways.org displays the route of A12. 


Part 1; the history of Siskiyou County Route A12

What is now A12 consists of what was the road east of former US 99 connecting Grenada to the community of Mayten.  A road east of Mayten to US 97 existed before 99-97 Cutoff but was primitive compared to the modern A12.  This older highway can be seen on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Siskiyou County.  

The opening of 99-97 Cutoff is discussed in detail in the March/April 1955 California Highways & Public Works.  The construction of 99-97 Cutoff was a Federal Aid Secondary ("FAS") project which helped Siskiyou County fund construction of a modern highway.  

The history of 99-97 Cutoff is discussed in great detail in the March/April 1955 California Highways & Public Works.  The corridor of 99-97 Cutoff is described as being explored by Hudson Bay Company trappers in 1833.  By 1852 surveyors were attempting to plot a path through what was the future corridor of 99-97 Cutoff but were killed by local Tribes.  By 1855 the future corridor of 99-97 Cutoff was first used by a wagon train as en route to Yreka.    The corridor of future 99-97 Cutoff was popular with settlers due to the presence of the easy to identify Sheep Rock.  In 1856 the future corridor of 99-97 Cutoff began to be traveled by Stage Lines and appears to have been an early example of a Franchise Toll Road.  By 1857 the future corridor of 99-97 Cutoff came to be known as the "Pit River Road" but in time would be more commonly known as the "Shasta Valley Route."  In the mid-1880s Grenada had been established as a siding of the Southern Pacific Railroad on the Shasta Valley Route.  The siding of Grenada renewed interested in the Shasta Valley Route which became a Siskiyou County public highway in the late 1880s.  The Shasta Valley Route remained an unsurfaced highway until Siskiyou County undertook efforts to pave it in the 1940s.  A realignment effort of the Shasta Valley Route began in 1947 and eventually became the FAS project known as 99-97 Cutoff. 




Sheep Rock can be seen as a major way point east of Yreka on the 1857 Britton & Rey's Road Map of California.   

According to cahighways.org 99-97 Cutoff was added to the Sign County Route program in 1959 when it was given the designation of "A12."  As noted above despite US 99 functionally ceasing exist the western terminus of A12 was never truncated to I-5.  As of November 2011 A12/99-97 Cutoff was designated the "Veterans Memorial Highway" by the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors to honor Siskiyou County Veterans. 


Part 2; a drive on Siskiyou County Route A12

From I-5 northbound one can access A12/99-97 Cutoff via Exit 766 in Grenada.  As noted above the origin point of A12 is actually slightly west of I-5 at Old Highway 99.  

A12/99-97 Cutoff eastbound passes through Grenada.  A12 crosses the Union Pacific Railroad and intersects A28 at Montague-Grenada Road.  Big Springs is signed as 7 miles away on A12/99-97 Cutoff eastbound. 


Approaching Salvador Road A12/99-97 Cutoff skirts the southern banks of Salt Lake.  Salt Lake is part of a group of small lakes known as the Lava Lakes.  

A12/99-97 Cutoff eastbound passes through the community of Big Springs and intersects A29 at Big Springs Road.  Big Springs Road is where the former Shasta Valley Route would have diverged from modern 99-97 Cutoff.  US 97 is signed as 12 miles away on A12/99-97 Cutoff from Big Springs Road. 


From Big Springs A12/99-97 Cutoff turns southeast towards Sheep Rock and US 97.  Approximately a half mile east of Harry Cash Road one can find the turn off for Pluto's Cave on A12/99-97 Cutoff.  Pluto's Cave is a partially collapsed lava tube which was discovered in 1863.  

A12/99-97 Cutoff eastbound terminates at US 97 at the foot of Mount Shasta.

An overlook Mount Shasta can be found about a half mile north of the terminus of A12/99-97 Cutoff on US 97.  Mount Shasta is a stratovolcano and dominates much of the view on a clear day throughout Siskiyou County.  Mount Shasta lies at an elevation of 14,179 feet above sea level and is the second highest peak in the entire Cascade Mountain Range only to Mount Rainier.




For perspective on the scale of Mount Shasta it can be seen dominating the terrain around Shasta Valley from the air.





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

North Carolina Continues to Move Forward with Rail

By
2023 and the first half of 2024 have seen continued growth in North Carolina's passenger rail system.  From increased daily trains from Raleigh to Charlotte, federal funds for studying additional corridors, and receiving a historic grant to begin the construction of high-speed rail between Raleigh and Richmond, the last 18 months have been a flurry of activity at NCDOT's Rail Division.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg. As ridership and routes increase - the engine of North Carolina passenger rail trains will become a more common sight. (Adam Prince) Increased Passenger Train Service: On July 10, 2023, a fourth Piedmont round-trip rail service between Raleigh and Charlotte commenced.  The four Piedmont trains plus the daily Carolinian (to Washington, DC, and New York) bring the total of trains serving the two cities daily to five. The current daily Piedmont and Carolinian schedule between Charlotte and Raleigh (NCDOT) The result was over 641,000 passengers utilized pa
Post a Comment
Read more

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

By
The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D
Post a Comment
Read more

The Midway Palm and Pine of US Route 99

By
Along modern day California State Route 99 south of Avenue 11 just outside the City limits of Madera one can find the Midway Palm and Pine in the center median of the freeway.  The Midway Palm and Pine denotes the halfway point between the Mexican Border and Oregon State Line on what was US Route 99.  The Midway Palm is intended to represent Southern California whereas the Midway Pine is intended to represent Northern California.  Pictured above the Midway Palm and Pine can be seen from the northbound lanes of the California State Route 99 Freeway.   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 The history of the Midway Palm and Pine The true timeframe for when the Midway Palm and Pine (originally a Deadora Cedar Tree) were planted is unknown.  In fact, the origin of the Midway Palm and Pine w
Post a Comment
Read more