Skip to main content

Former California State Route 120 along Green Springs Road and Keystone siding

By

Green Springs Road of Tuolumne County is a short, bypassed segment servicing Keystone siding which was once part of California State Route 120.  The corridor is notable for having not only visible portions of Portland Cement but also the very early era State Highway bridge at Green Springs Run.  The Green Springs Run Bridge was constructed in 1914 and still displays plaques indicating it to be a State Highway component.  California State Route 120 was realigned around Keystone siding during the mid-1950s. 

California State Route 120 can be seen passing through Keystone siding and crossing Green Springs Run on the 1935 Division of Highways map of Tuolumne County.  




Part 1; the history of California State Route 120 at Keystone siding

Keystone is a siding of the Sierra Railroad (formerly the Sierra Railway) located at the intersection of Green Springs Road and La Grange Road (Tuolumne County Route J59).  Keystone is one of many sidings which were established by the Sierra Railway after the company incorporated during February 1897.  The line was opened between Oakdale and a temporary terminus at Cooperstown by June 1897.  The siding facility at Cooperstown included a wye which trains could use to turn around.  

The Sierra Railway completed tracks east of Cooperstown to Chinese Camp by November 1897.  The company would plot Occidential, Paulsell, Warnerville, Copperstown, Crimea (now Keystone) and Chinese siding during the initial run of line construction.  The line would later be extended further east of Jamestown to the community of Tuolumne by 1900.  The Sierra Railway from the outset has been a freight corridor which has mostly been focused on the hauling of lumber. 

Crimea siding (now Keystone) can be seen one of the two branches of the Sierra Railway between Cooperstown and Chinese siding on the 1914 Weber's map of Stanislaus County (which also shows part of Tuolumne County).  Crimea siding is shown to be located at the intersection of Green Springs Road and La Grange Road.  


Green Springs Road was added to the State Highway System as an extension Legislative Route Number 13 by the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act.  Said Bond Act created a segment extending from Sonora west to Salida.  

The January 1915 California Highway Bulletin announced the nearing completion of Legislative Route Number 13 at Keystone siding.  The 10.9-mile corridor is noted extend from the Stanislaus/Tuolumne County line to approximately 2 miles east of Keystone.  Said corridor was noted include an 18-foot-wide graded roadway which was then 82.2% complete.  While not overtly stated this contract included a concrete spandrel bridge at Green Springs Run.  


The June 1927 California Highways & Public Works announced Legislative Route Number 13 had been recently surfaced from Keystone east to Jamestown. 


Legislative Route Number 13 through Keystone would be assigned as part of California State Route 120 when the initial run of Sign State Routes was announced in the August 1934 California Highways & Public Works.  The State Highway corridor at Keystone and Green Springs Run can be seen on the 1935 Division of Highway map of Tuolumne County.  


The July/August 1955 California Highways & Public Works announced a contract awarded to realign California State Route 120 from the Stanislaus/Tuolumne County line east to La Grange Road as a bypass of Keystone.  The project is noted to have been part of Federal Aid Secondary program 919.  The corridor appears to have been constructed fairly quickly as no major announcement came within the volumes published in 1956. 




Part 2; a drive along the original alignment of California State Route 120 on Green Springs Road

Modern eastbound California State Routes 120 and 108 now multiplex in the vicinity of Keystone.  The former alignment of California State Route 120 can be found at Green Springs Road.  


Green Springs Road is presently surfaced by a decaying later of asphalt which covers earlier Portland Cement.  The roadway dives down to the 1914 era Green Springs Run Bridge which still displays placards indicating it as a State Highway Bridge.  













Green Springs Road climbs east from Green Springs Run and terminates at La Grange Road (now County Route J59) at Keystone siding.  Keystone remains an active siding of the Sierra Railroad despite the line converting to diesel locomotives in 1955. 




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