Skip to main content

California State Route 186

By

California State Route 186 is a 2.128-mile State Highway located in southeastern Imperial County.  California State Route 186 begins at Interstate 8 and terminates to south near the Mexican Border via Algodones Road.   The current iteration of California State Route 186 was added to the State Highway System during 1972.  





The history of California State Route 186

The current California State Route 186 is centered around the community of Andrade.  Andrade is located on the grounds of what was once the Butterfield Overland Mail Route stage station known as Pilot Knob.  Pilot Knob can be seen on the 1873 Bancroft's Map of California in San Diego County opposite Los Algodones in the Mexican State of Sonora.  


The Alamo Canal was constructed during 1900 and 1901 which passed by the site of Pilot Knob.  The Alamo Canal originally connected from the Colorado River south to the head of the Alamo River in Mexicali Valley.  Pilot Knob was chosen as the location of the headgate (Chaffey Gate) for Alamo Canal due to the solid rock foundation.  

During 1904 a breach in the Alamo Canal four miles south of Pilot Knob in Sonora was opened.  This breach lacked headgates and was intended to bring additional waters from the Colorado River into Imperial Valley.  The unintended consequence of this action was entire Colorado River flow fully diverting into the Salton Sink numerous times during 1904-1906.  The breach Alamo Canal was closed by the Southern Pacific Railroad during February 1907 during the construction of the Inter-California Railway.  During August 1907 Imperial County would split from San Diego County.  

The Inter-California Railway was incorporated during June 1904.  When completed the Inter-California Railway began in Niland and ran south through Imperial Valley to Mexican border at Mexicali.  The Inter-California Railway passed through Los Algodones where it reentered the United States near Pilot Knob.  The Southern Pacific Railroad established a new siding facility at Pilot Knob known as Andrade.  The Inter-California Railway terminated at the Southern Pacific Railroad mainline near Andrade alongside the Alamo Canal at Araz Junction.  

The Andrade Port of Entry was established during 1909 which included a rail and road border crossing.  Andrade was named in honor of Mexican General Guillermo Andrade.  General Andrade sold land to the California Development Company to establish the Andrade town site at Pilot Knob.  Post Office service was established at Andrade during 1912.  

The Andrade Port of Entry along the Inter-California Railway can be seen in a postcard dated to 1911. 


The 1917 California State Automobile Association map depicts the Andrade Port of Entry.  A highway from the Andrade Port of Entry can be seen branching east towards the Arizona State line and Yuma.


The site of Andrade can be seen along the Inter-California Railway as "Cantu Andrade" on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Imperial County.  "Cantu" is a reference to Mexican Colonel Estaban Cantu.  It is not clear when "Cantu" dropped from the Andrade community name.  


Andrade can be seen on the 1940 United State Geological Survey map of Yuma along the Inter-California Railway.  A roadway can be seen connecting Andrade to US Route 80 north of All American Canal.


The Alamo Canal was damaged by May 18, 1940, Imperial Valley Earthquake.  A $77,000 allotment from the State Emergency fund to repair Alamo Canal was featured in the July 1940 California Highways & Public Works.  Alamo Canal ultimately would be shortened back into the United States near Andrade and largely shuttered during 1942.  


The Inter-California Railway shuttered operations during 1960.  Within Mexico the trackage of the Inter-California Railway became Ferrocarril Sonora-Baja California.  The connection with the Southern Pacific Railroad was maintained but the connection at Andrade was removed.  The rail crossing at the Andrade Port of Entry was abandoned which left it only accessible by road. 

Algodones Road can be seen connecting the adopted corridor of Interstate 8 north of the All American Canal in the March/April 1965 California Highways & Public Works.  



During 1970 the Interstate 8/Algodones Road interchange was completed.  During 1972 Legislative Chapters 742 and 1216 added Algodones Road to the State Highway System as the second iteration of California State Route 186.  The original definition of the second California State Route 186 was:

"From the international boundary near Algodones to Route 8."

The original California State Route 186 existed in the San Francisco Bay area between 1965-1969 and ultimately became Interstate 380.  The second California State Route 186 can be seen along Algodones Road on the 1975 Caltrans Map.  


1990 Legislative Chapter 216 deleted the duplication route definition of California State Route 186.  During 2019 the California Transportation Commission authorized the vacation of California State Route Postmiles IMP 0.0-0.1.  This segment of California State Route 186 consisted of the portion of Algodones Road from the Andrande Port of Entry turnaround cul-de-sac to the Mexican Border.  

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more