Skip to main content

Unconstructed California State Route 234

By


California State Route 234 is a three-mile unconstructed State Highway which was planned near the southern city border of Stockton near French Camp.  The corridor which was adopted into the State Highway System by way of 1959 Legislative Chapter 1062.  The traversable routing of California State Route 234 is noted by Caltrans as French Camp Road despite it not matching the planned corridor routing displayed on State Highway Maps.  During 1983 San Joaquin County adopted a resolution to adopt French Camp Road formally California State Route 234.  The state never acted on the resolution and San Joaquin eventually lost interest.  Modern Arch Airport Road was completed in 2010s along the planned corridor of California State Route 234.  Arch Airport Road facilitates traffic to newer industrial construction at Airpark 599 near Stockton Metropolitain Airport.  

Planned California State Route 234 can be seen straddling the southern city border of Stockton on the blog cover as displayed on 1964 Division of Highways Map.  




The history of California State Route 234

What was to become planned California State Route 234 was added to the State Highway System during 1959 as Legislative Route Number 261 (LRN 261).  LRN 261 was adopted into the Freeways & Expressways System which was also created during 1959.  LRN 261 was defined by Legislative Chapter 1062 with the following description:

"LRN 238 (Interstate 5) near French Camp to LRN 4 (US Route 99"

LRN 261 appears for the first time on the 1960 Division of Highways Map as a planned State Highway.  The planned but unadopted routing of LRN 261 is shown to be aligned north of French Camp near the southern boundary of the city of Stockton.  The planned alignment of LRN 261 included a crossing of French Camp Slough approaching Interstate 5/LRN 238. 



The Legislative Route Numbers were dropped as part of the 1964 State Highway Renumbering.  LRN 261 was subsequently renumbered as "California State Route 234."  California State Route 234 retained the definition of LRN 261 and appears on the first time on the 1964 Division of Highways.  



Unconstructed California State Route 234 roughly aligned with then existing Sperry Road between McKinnley Avenue and Airport Way (County Route J3).  The corridor appears to have been intended to service Sharpe Army Depot Field Annex which was located at Stockton Municipal Airport.  Sperry Road can be seen as originally configured on the 1968 United States Geological Survey Map of Stockton.  The regular Army would withdraw from Stockton Municipal Airport during 1973 and the holdings of Sharpe Army Depot Field Annex were relinquished to San Joaquin County. 


California State Route 234 never had a formal alignment adoption.  In 1983 San Joaquin County passed resolution 8-83-1461 for procedures to be followed to add French Camp Road as California State Route 234 and Eight Mile Road as California State Route 235.  French Camp Road (County Route J9 and former US Route 99) is listed as the traversable routing of California State Route 234, but no State Highway map has ever shown the planned corridor following it.   During 1993 San Joaquin County adopted Eight Mile Road as arterial roadway and dropped interest in California State Route 235.  San Joaquin County never opined on continued interest with California State Route 234.

Sperry Road by the 1980s was extended east from Airport Way to California State Route 99 (former US Route 99) by San Joaquin County via the planned corridor of California State Route 234.  This extension appears on the 1989 United States Geological Map of Stockton.  


The corridor of Sperry Road was extended west to Interstate 5 and renamed as "Arch Airport Road" during the latter half of the 2010s.  Arch Airport Road is aligned directly over the planned corridor of California State Route 234.  The intent of Arch Airport Road is to increase access to Stockton Metropolitain Airport and the Airpark 599 (which broke ground in 2021).  

Arch Airport Road as it is configured now appears on the 2015 United States Geological Map of Stockton.  



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

West Canyon Road (Snow Canyon State Park)

By
West Canyon Road is an approximately four-mile dirt service road located in Snow Canyon State Park.  West Canyon Road follows Snow Canyon from the Whiptail Trail to the northern State Park boundary and intersects numerous trailheads.   West Canyon Road was the original main road through Snow Canyon after it was designated as a Utah State Park in 1957 and opened to the public in 1962. Part 1; the history of West Canyon Road Snow Canyon is located in the Red Mountains north of the city of Ivins in Washington County, Utah.  Snow Canyon is one of many sandstone canyons located in the Red Mountains.  Part of the extinct Santa Clara Volcano punctured the Red Mountains via lava tubes. From approximately the year 200 to 1,250 the area around Snow Canyon was inhabited by the Ancestral Puebloans.  Mormon pioneers established Santa Clara south of Snow Canyon in 1854.  Local legend has it that the settlers discovered Snow Canyon in the 1850s while searching for m...
Post a Comment
Read more

Indian Gulch Extension and the Indian Gulch ghost town site

By
Indian Gulch Extension is an approximately 6-mile-long rural highway corridor in the Sierra Nevada foothills of western Mariposa County.  Indian Gulch Extension begins at Indian Gulch Road near the namesake ghost town of Indian Gulch.  From the ghost town site Indian Gulch Extension extends southwesterly to the Merced County line where it becomes Waltz Road.   The former Gold Rush era community of Indian Gulch which was settled near Santa Cruz Mountain in 1849 and had standing structures until the early 1970s.  What is now Indian Gulch Extension was approved for construction by the Mariposa County Commissioners in 1862.  The purpose of the corridor was to provide Indian Gulch with a direct connection westward with the greater Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton-Los Angeles Road would go onto define much of the Mariposa County and Merced County line.  Part 1; the history of Indian Gulch and Indian Gulch Extension Indian Gulch Road is named aft...
Post a Comment
Read more

The alignment history of US Route 50 in Dayton, Nevada

By
Dayton is located in Lyon County and is the second oldest community in Nevada having been founded near mining claims in Gold Canyon circa 1850.  The community of Dayton historically has been part of the California Trail, Pony Express and Pioneer Route of the Lincoln Highway.  Since November 1926 the community has been served by US Route 50.  Originally US Route 50 passed through Dayton along what is now Old US Route 50, Pike Street, Main Street, River Street and Daney Canyon.  Modernization of US Route 50 would begin during the early 1930s when Daney Canyon was bypassed and would continue into the 1940s Federal Aid Program era when the downtown bypass was developed.  This blog will serve as history of US Route 50 in Dayton and exploration of the original alignment in the community.   US Route 50 can be seen below bypassing downtown Dayton on the 1956 United States Geological Survey map. Part 1; the history of US Route 50 in Dayton Dayton is the second ...
Post a Comment
Read more