California State Route 51; failed Interstate 80 on the Capitol City Freeway, the I-80 Business Loop, and former US 40/99E
The final route I took on the way back from Lake Tahoe this past weekend was on California State Route 51 through Sacramento which is known as the Interstate 80 Business Loop/Capitol City Freeway. CA 51 is a hidden designation for the 9 mile I-80 Business Loop on the Capitol City Freeway. In short most people known of CA 51 due to the signage oddity it carries with the I-80 Business Loop being entirely signed on the Capitol City Freeway which was once part of I-80. The story of CA 51 is incredibly complicated and dates back to the earliest times of the State Highway System in California. What eventually became CA 51 was originally defined as a State Highway during the 1909 First State Highway Bond Issue. Said highway was to run from Sacramento north to the Oregon State Line and eventually would be assigned Legislative Route Number 3. CAhighways.org on LRN 3 LRN 3 north out of Sacramento took the following route (for purposes of simplicity I'm including what ...