La Paloma Road is a 13.1-mile rural dirt highway located in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Merced County and Mariposa County. Said corridor begins at Snelling Road near Merced and extends east to Hornitos Road (County Route J16) in Mariposa County.
La Paloma Road was surveyed by Mariposa County in 1872 as a direct highway linking Hornitos to the then new Merced County seat of Merced. The highway was originally known as Merced-Hornitos Road and was later renamed as Youd-Hornitos Road. The present name of the corridor was assigned after World War II and is derived from La Paloma Ranch in Mariposa County.
Aside from a small portion in Merced County the corridor of La Paloma Road has never been surfaced. The highway has continually declined in importance since Legislative Route Number 18 (now California State Route 140) directly linked Merced and Mariposa in 1918. La Paloma Road has in recent times become increasingly difficult for Merced County to maintain due to winter rains. Mariposa County sought to have the corridor included as a segment of Atwater-Merced Expressway circa 1997-2001 following the selection of the site of the University of California-Merced campus. In recent years Merced County has elected to fully close La Paloma Road and denote it as impassable.
Part 1; the history of La Paloma Road
A survey for construction of the so-called "Merced and Hornitos Road" was ordered by Mariposa County in February 1872. The purpose of the survey was to construct a roadway from the Stockton-Los Angeles Road near Hornitos southwest to the then newly selected Merced County seat of Merced. The previous Merced County seat was located on the Stockton-Los Angeles Road in Snelling.
The order for the Merced-Hornitos Road survey appears in the Mariposa County records for Public Highways.
Merced-Hornitos Road appears on the 1917 California State Automobile Association Map as a major local highway. The corridor was also part of the fastest route of travel between Merced and Mariposa until the completion of Legislative Route Number 18 (marked by a red line on the map) in Mariposa County circa 1918.
Merced-Hornitos Road appears in detail on the 1916 United States Geological Survey map of Hopeton and 1919 edition for Haystack Mountain. The highway is shown originating at Hornitos Road in Mariposa County and extending west to Merced-Snelling Road (now Snelling Road) in Merced County.
Most of Merced-Hornitos Road was never surfaced despite it being the fastest highway between the two communities. The last major improvement came in 1935 when a bridge was constructed over Main Canal in Merced County. When last surveyed, the structure was noted to carry approximately 56 vehicles a day.
The Merced-Hornitos Road appears as "Youd-Hornitos Road" on the 1935 Division of Highways map of Merced County. The corridor is shown to originate at Township 6 South, Range 14 East in Merced County near Yosemite Lake. The highway is displayed extending east to near Hornitos in Mariposa County at Township 5 South, Range 15 East.
The first United States Geological Survey map to display "La Paloma Road" is the 1962 edition for Haystack Mountain. The then new name for the corridor was taken from La Paloma Ranch located at the Mariposa County/Merced County line.
The concept of a Merced campus as part of the University of California system was borne during the late 1980s and early 1990s due to increased Central Valley enrollment. The University of California Board of Regents selected Merced for the planned new campus during May 1995. The campus site was located near the western end of La Paloma Road.
In May 1997 the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors enacted a resolution to support the Merced County Association of Governments (MCAG) in pursuing construction of the then called University of California Merced Campus Parkway Loop System (now Atwater-Merced Expressway). During June 1997 Mariposa County indicated in a letter to the Merced County Board of Supervisors a desire to include improvements to make La Paloma Road an all-year roadway as part of the Campus Parkway Loop. At the time La Paloma Road in Merced County was often closed during the winter season due to difficulties associated with flooding and washouts.
In October 2001 the Mariposa County Board of Supervisor was made aware that an Environmental Impact Report on the Atwater-Merced Expressway indicated that the construction of the University of California-Merced campus wouldn't have a tangible effect Mariposa County. The Mariposa County Board of Supervisors objected in a letter to Merced County citing procedural flaws regarding the California Environmental Quality Act process. A secondary objection was noted regarding a failure to recognize a potential economic driver for western Mariposa County being developed along an improved La Paloma Road.
Construction of the University of California-Merced campus broke ground during October 2002 and would open for classes during September 2005. Phase 1A of Atwater-Merced Expressway included a replacement for the Buhach Road ramp at California State Route 99 and new segment of road connecting north to Green Sands Avenue. $47 million of the phase was funded by way of 2006 Proposition 1B. The remaining unfunded part of the phase fell through due to a state-wide budget cut which came during the 2007-2009 era.
The remaining balance of Phase 1A funding came later via various differing state sources and broke ground during 2013. The phase was dedicated by the Merced County Association of Governments and Caltrans on March 25, 2016.
Phase 2 and 3 of the Atwater-Merced Expressway remain not fully funded. Phase 1B would extend the corridor from Green Sands Road north to County Route J7 (Santa Fe Drive). Phase 2 is planned to connect to California State Route 59/Bellevue Road whereas Phase 3 would extend south to California State Route 140 (McSwain Road). As the 2001 era Environmental Impact Report would indicate Merced County has no present plans to extend Atwater-Merced Expressway towards La Paloma Road nor any part of Mariposa County.
The timetable is unclear but since 2001 Merced County has opted to fully close their portion of La Paloma Road. The corridor is gated from Snelling Road and the Mariposa County line. Signage on both ends of the closure indicate the roadway to be impassable.
The closure of La Paloma Road in Merced County requires an 8.5-mile detour north into Snelling. The first map image below displays the 13.1 miles between both ends of La Paloma Road contrasted to the 21.6-mile detour route in the second map.
Part 2; exploring the closure on La Paloma Road
From Snelling Road traffic can access a small asphalt stub of La Paloma Road. Vehicle access to the dirt portion is blocked by a gate. The signage at the gate is heavily damaged by shotgun blasts. Despite the closure the road ahead is often used by cyclists as an ad hoc recreational trail.
The westbound beginning of La Paloma Road can be found along Hornitos Road (County Route J16) in Mariposa County near Hornitos.
The Mariposa County maintained portion of La Paloma Road is open to traffic and is 1.6 miles long. Traffic heading west is advised of the closure ahead at the Merced County line.
La Paloma Road westbound descends to the Merced County line at La Paloma Ranch. Despite the closure ahead a Merced County placard is still present at the now-gated roadway.
The view east on La Paloma Road facing towards Hornitos from La Paloma Ranch.
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