Skip to main content

Paper Highways: California State Route 81

California State Route 81 is a never constructed thirty-one-mile State Highway which was located in the Inland Empire area.  California State Route 81 was defined as part of the 1964 State Highway Renumbering over what had been part of Legislative Route Number 276.  California State Route 81 is presently defined as being routed from Interstate 215 east of Riverside to Interstate 15 south of Devore.  Above the blog cover photo depicts the planned California State Route 81 can be seen as it appeared on the 1970 Division of Highways Map.  


The history of California State Route 81

What was to become California State Route 81 entered the State Highway System via 1959 Legislative Chapter 1062 as Legislative Route Number 276.  The original definition of Legislative Route Number 276 was as follows:

"Legislative Route Number 78 (US Route 395) east of Riverside to Legislative Route Number 193 south of Devore."

From the outset Legislative Route Number 276 was part of the Freeway & Expressway System which had also been codified during 1959.  Legislative Route Number 276 first appears on the 1960 Division of Highways Map with no adopted routing.  


As part of the 1964 State Highway Renumbering the Legislative Route Numbers were dropped.  Legislative Route Number 276 subsequently became California State Route 81.  The original definition of California State Route 81 was as follows:

"Route 395 east of Riverside to Route 31 south of Devore."

California State Route 81 appears for the first time on the 1964 Division of Highways Map.  

California State Route 81 never was referenced in the California Highways & Public Works before the publication ended during 1967.  California State Route 81 never at any point has had a formally adopted routing.  

1969 Legislative Chapter 294 changed the southern terminus of California State Route 81 to "Route 15" which reflected the change of alignment of Interstate 15 over what had been US Route 395.  The new southern terminus of California State Route 81 at Interstate 15 appears on the 1970 Division of Highways Map.  


1976 Legislative Chapter 1354 changed the southern terminus of California State Route 81 to "Route 194" which reflected the change of alignment of Interstate 15E over what had been Interstate 15.  The designation of California State Route 194 was utilized as a loophole to get around the numbering duplication of Interstate 15 and prohibition of suffixed routes.  Interstate 15 had been shifted to what had previously been designated as California State Route 31.  The new terminus points of California State Route 81 appear on the 1977 Caltrans Map.  


1982 Legislative Chapter 681 changed the southern terminus of California State Route 81 to "Route 215" which reflected the designation of Interstate 215 over what had been Interstate 15E/California State Route 194.  The new southern terminus of California State Route 81 at Interstate 215 appears on the 1986 Division of Highways Map.  


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

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

Highways in and around Old Sacramento; US 40, US 99W, CA 16, CA 24, CA 70, CA 99, CA 275, and more

This past weekend I was visiting the City of Sacramento for a wedding.  That being the case I decided to head out on a morning run through Old Sacramento, Jibboom Street Bridge, I Street Bridge, Tower Bridge, and path of US Route 40/US Route 99W towards the California State Capitol.  My goal was to retrace the paths of the various highways that once traversed the Old Sacramento area. 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 old highway alignments of Sacramento The City of Sacramento lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and American River in Sacramento Valley.  Sacramento Valley was discovered by Spanish Explorer Gabriel Moraga in 1808.  Moraga referred to the fertile Sacramento Valley akin to a "Blessed Sacrament."  By 1839 John Sutter Sr. settled in Mexican held

Old Stage Road in Tulare County and Kern County

Old Stage Road is an approximately 30-mile rural highway comprised of Tulare County Mountain Road 1, Kern County Mountain Road 447 and Tulare County Mountain Road 109.  Old Stage originates at Jack Ranch Road near Posey and ends at the outskirts of Porterville at Deer Creek.  Old Stage Road notably is comprised of two 19th Century stage routes.  From White Mountain Road northwest to Fountain Springs, Old Stage Road overlays Thomas Baker's 1860s era stage road to Linn Valley (now Glennville) and the Kern River Gold Rush Claims.  From Fountain Springs to Deer Creek, Old Stage Road is comprised of the 1853 Stockton-Los Angeles Road. Featured as the blog cover is the northward descent on Old Stage Road along Arrastre Creek to the town site of White River.  What became White River was settled along a spur of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road as "Dog Town" when gold was discovered nearby.  By 1856 the community had been renamed Tailholt.  A stage road from Tailholt to Linn Valley w