History of California's state highway system

The

bond issue for over 3,000 miles (4,800 km) of highways. The last large addition was made by the California State Assembly

in 1959, after which only minor changes have been made.

1895 to 1919

The first state road was authorized on March 26, 1895, by the

Smith Flat — 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Placerville — to the Nevada state line.^[1] The 58 mile^[2] (93 km) road had been operated as a toll road until 1886, when El Dorado County bought it; the county deeded the road to the state on February 28, 1896.^[3] Funding was only enough for minimal improvements, including a stone bridge over the South Fork American River in 1901.^[4]

buckboard wagon in Riverside County

, 1896

Also in 1895, on March 27, the legislature created the three-person

SR 120), was designated by the legislature in 1899 to be built and maintained by the Department of Highways.^[8]

Several more state highways were legislated in the next decade, and the legislature passed a law creating the

SR 82 in San Mateo County — occurring on August 7.^[14] Noteworthy portions of the system built by the commission included the Ridge Route in southern California and the Yolo Causeway west from Sacramento.^[15]

Because the first bond issue did not provide enough funding, the "State Highways Act of 1915" was approved by the legislature on May 20, 1915, and the voters in November 1916, taking effect on December 31. This gave the Department of Engineering an additional $12 million to complete the original system and $3 million for a further approximately 680 miles (1,090 km) specified by the law. At this time, each route was assigned a number from 1 to 34;

1964 renumbering. In 1917, the legislature gave the California Highway Commission statutory recognition, and turned over the approximately 750 miles^[17] (1200 km) of roads adopted by legislative act, until then maintained by the State Engineer, to the commission.^[13] Where not serving as extensions of existing routes, these - and routes subsequently added legislatively in 1917 and 1919 - were given numbers from 35 to 45. A third bond issue was approved by the voters at a special election on July 1, 1919, and provided $20 million more for the existing routes and the same amount for new extensions totaling about 1,800 miles (2,900 km), adding Routes 46 to 64 to the system.^[18] The three bond issues together totaled 5,560 miles (8,950 km), of which just over 40% (60% if the 1919 bond issue is left out) was completed or under construction in mid-1920.^[19]

1920 to 1958

San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge construction, 1935

The Department of Engineering became part of the new

U.S. Highways along several of the most major state highways.^[23] The California Toll Bridge Authority was created in 1929 to acquire and operate all toll bridges on state highways,^[20] including the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and Carquinez Bridge

.

After 1927 and 1929, in which no highways were added to the system, the legislature authorized the construction of 23 new routes in 1931,^[24] which were numbered from 72 to 80 when not forming extensions of existing routes. Two years later, another 213 sections of highway were added,^[25] almost doubling the total length of state highways to about 14,000 miles (23,000 km);^[26] the last-assigned route number jumped from 80 to 202. Many of these new routes, as well as a number of existing routes, were incorporated into the initial system of state sign routes in 1934, also posted by the auto clubs.^[20]^[27]

The Division of Highways took over signage on state highways from the auto clubs in 1947,^[20] though at least the Auto Club of Southern California continued to place signs on city streets until 1956.^[28]

The "Great Renumbering" of 1964

In 1963 and 1964, the

Interstate Highways (designated in 1959), and the renumbering of State Routes that conflicted with Interstate numbers. Some U.S. Routes that were officially removed continued to be signed until the replacement Interstates were completed. The state law authorizing the renumbering was passed on September 20, 1963. Signage changes took place by July 1, 1964.^[29]

1964 to present

University Hills in Irvine

. In the foreground is the tolled Bonita Canyon Drive exit.

A regularly recurring issue in California politics since the 1960s was whether the state should continue to aggressively expand its freeway network or concentrate on improving mass transit networks.

Interstate 710 through South Pasadena

.

Both the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970 added significant environmental regulations to highway construction. Then in 1972, the Department of Public Works was merged with the Department of Aeronautics to become the modern California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).^[30] Now Caltrans not only manages the state highway system, but is also actively involved with public transportation systems throughout the state, and thus is essentially in charge of the entire state's transportation network.

Toll roads and

South Bay Expressway, began operation in San Diego County

in 2007. Several of these other HOT lanes across various state highway are also either currently under construction or in the planning stages that will open in the near future.

List of route numbers, 1917-1931

	Approximate present number(s)	From	To	History
1	US 199	Sausalito	Oregon	1910 bond issue: Sausalito to Crescent City 1919 bond issue: Crescent City to Oregon
2	I-5	San Francisco	San Diego	1910 bond issue: entire route
3	I-5	Sacramento	Oregon	1910 bond issue: entire route
4	I-5	Sacramento	Los Angeles	1910 bond issue: entire route
5	SR 17	Stockton	Oakland	1910 bond issue: entire route
6	I-80	Sacramento	Davis	1910 bond issue: entire route
7	I-5	Benicia	Red Bluff	1910 bond issue: entire route
8	SR 12	Novato	Fairfield	1910 bond issue: entire route
9	SR 66	San Fernando	San Bernardino	1910 bond issue: entire route ( San Bernardino County seat lateral)
10	SR 198	San Lucas	Sequoia National Park	1910 bond issue: Tulare County seat lateral) 1916 bond issue: San Lucas to Hanford 1919 bond issue: Visalia to Sequoia National Park
11	US 50	Sacramento	Nevada	1895 law:^{Pollock Pines}
12	I-8	San Diego	El Centro	1910 bond issue: entire route ( Imperial County seat lateral)
13	SR 108	Salida	East of Sonora Pass	1901 law:^{Tuolumne County seat lateral) 1919 law:^[33]} Sonora to Long Barn
14	I-80	Oakland	Martinez	1910 bond issue: entire route ( Contra Costa County seat lateral)
15	SR 20	Ukiah	Emigrant Gap	1910 bond issue: Colusa County seat lateral) 1919 bond issue: Ukiah to Williams and Colusa to Emigrant Gap
16	SR 175	Hopland	Lakeport	1910 bond issue: entire route ( Lake County seat lateral)
17	SR 49	Roseville	Nevada City	1910 bond issue: entire route ( Nevada County seat lateral)
18	SR 140	Merced	Yosemite National Park	1910 bond issue: Merced to Mariposa County seat lateral) 1915 law:^[34] through Yosemite National Park 1916 bond issue: Mariposa to Yosemite National Park
19	SR 60	West of Claremont	Riverside	1910 bond issue: entire route ( Riverside County seat lateral)
20	SR 299	Arcata	Redding	1910 bond issue: Trinity County seat lateral) 1916 bond issue: Arcata to Salyer and Helena to Weaverville
21	SR 70	Richvale	Quincy	1910 bond issue: Richvale to Plumas County seat lateral) 1919 bond issue: Oroville to Quincy as Route 21
22	SR 156	North of Hollister	San Juan Bautista	1910 bond issue: Hollister to San Juan Bautista ( San Benito County seat lateral) 1919 bond issue: north of Hollister to Hollister
23	SR 89	Saugus	South Lake Tahoe	1901 law:^{Mono County seat lateral) 1911 law:^[35]} east of Sonora Pass to South Lake Tahoe
24	SR 4	Lodi	Southeast of Markleeville	1910 bond issue: Lodi to Calaveras Big Trees
25	SR 49	Nevada City	Downieville	1910 bond issue: entire route ( Sierra County seat lateral)
26	SR 86	San Bernardino	El Centro	1916 bond issue: entire route
27	I-8	El Centro	Arizona	1916 bond issue: entire route
28	SR 299	Redding	Nevada	1910 bond issue: Redding to Adin 1921 law:^[38] Alturas to Nevada
29	US 395	Red Bluff	Nevada	1910 bond issue: Red Bluff to Lassen County seat lateral) 1919 bond issue: Susanville to Nevada
30	SR 70	Oroville	Quincy	See Route 21
31	I-15	San Bernardino	Nevada	1916 bond issue: San Bernardino to Barstow 1925 law:^[22] Barstow to Nevada
32	SR 152	Chowchilla	Gilroy	1916 bond issue: entire route
33	SR 46	Bakersfield	Paso Robles	1916 bond issue: entire route
34	SR 88	Galt	Southeast of Luther Pass	1910 bond issue: Galt to Amador County seat lateral) 1911 law:^[35] Jackson to southeast of Luther Pass
35	SR 3	Mad River	Peanut	1907 law:^[39] entire route
36	N/A	Northwest of Downieville	Downieville	1907 law:^[40] entire route
37	I-80	Auburn	Truckee	1909 law:^{Emigrant Gap to Donner Lake 1915 law:^[42] Donner Lake to Truckee 1915 law:^[43]} Auburn to Emigrant Gap 1919 bond issue: entire route
38	I-80	South Lake Tahoe	Nevada	1911 law:^{Tahoe City to Nevada}
39	SR 28	Tahoe City	Nevada	1915 law:^[46] entire route
40	SR 120	West of Chinese Camp	Lee Vining	1899 law:^[8] Yosemite National Park to west of Lee Vining 1915 law:^[47] through Yosemite National Park 1915 law:^[34] west of Chinese Camp to Yosemite National Park 1917 law:^[48] west of Lee Vining to Lee Vining
41	SR 180	General Grant Grove	Kings Canyon	1909 law:^[49] entire route 1919 bond issue: entire route
42	SR 236	Saratoga Gap	Big Basin Redwoods State Park	1913 law:^[50] entire route
43	SR 18	Waterman Canyon	Big Bear Lake	1917 law:^[51] Waterman Canyon to east end of Big Bear Lake via north side 1919 bond issue: Arrowbear Lake to Metcalf Bay on south side of Big Bear Lake
44	SR 236	Boulder Creek	Big Basin Redwoods State Park	1913 law:^[50] within the park 1917 law:^[52] outside the park
45	SR 162	Biggs	Willows	1919 law:^[53] entire route
46	SR 169	North of Yreka	Klamath	1919 bond issue: entire route
47	SR 32	Orland	Chico	1919 bond issue: entire route
48	SR 128	Cloverdale	Albion	1919 bond issue: entire route
49	SR 53	Calistoga	North of Lower Lake	1919 bond issue: Calistoga to Lower Lake as Route 49 and Lower Lake to north of Lower Lake as Route 50
50	SR 16	Northeast of Lower Lake	Rumsey	1919 bond issue: entire route
51	SR 12	Santa Rosa	Sonoma	1919 bond issue: entire route
52	SR 131	Tiburon	Mill Valley	1919 bond issue: entire route
53	SR 12	Fairfield	Lodi	1919 bond issue: Fairfield to Rio Vista 1921 law:^[54] Rio Vista to Lodi
54	SR 16	East of Sloughhouse	Plymouth	1919 bond issue: entire route
55	SR 35	San Francisco	North of Santa Cruz	1919 bond issue: entire route
56	SR 1	Cambria	Carmel	1919 bond issue: San Simeon to Carmel 1921 law:^[55] Cambria to San Simeon
57	SR 178	Santa Maria	Freeman Junction	1919 bond issue: entire route
58	I-40	Mojave	Arizona	1919 bond issue: Mojave to Needles 1925 law:^[56] Needles to Arizona
59	SR 138	Gorman	Lancaster	1919 bond issue: entire route
60	SR 1	El Rio	San Juan Capistrano	1919 bond issue: Oxnard to San Juan Capistrano 1925 law:^[57] El Rio to Oxnard
61	SR 2	La Canada Flintridge	Red Box Gap	1919 bond issue: entire route
62	SR 39	Azusa	San Gabriel Canyon	1919 bond issue: entire route
63	SR 168	Big Pine	Oasis	1919 bond issue: entire route
64	I-10	Mecca	Blythe	1919 bond issue: entire route
65	SR 49	Auburn	Sonora	1921 law:^[21] entire route
66	SR 120	Lathrop	Manteca	1921 law:^[58] entire route
67	SR 129	San Juan Bautista	Chittenden	1921 law:^[59] entire route
68	US 101	San Francisco	San Jose	1923 and 1925 laws:^[60]^[61] entire route
69	I-580	San Rafael	Point San Quentin	1925 law:^[62] entire route
70	SR 222	Ukiah	Mendocino State Hospital	1925 law:^[63] entire route
71	US 101	Crescent City	Oregon	1925 law:^[64] entire route

Notes

^ ^a ^b "An act to authorize the state of California to secure the title to and right of way for that certain wagon-road...commencing a short distance easterly from the village of Smith's Flat...and running thence to Lake Tahoe...", approved March 26, 1895, chapter 128, p. 119
^ Report of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road Commissioner, November 29, 1898
California Highways and Public Works
, Centennial Edition, September 9, 1950

^ Department of Engineering (1917), p. 181

^ Blow, pp. 12-15

^ Blow, p. 18

^ ^a ^b "An act to provide for the construction of a state highway or wagon road from Sacramento City to Folsom...", approved March 29, 1897, chapter 176, p. 239

^ ^a ^b "An act to provide for the construction of a free wagon road from the Mono lake basin to connect with a road called 'Tioga road,' at or near the 'Tioga mine,' and making an appropriation therefor.", approved February 23, 1899, chapter 26, p. 26

^ "An act to create for the State of California a department of engineering...", approved March 11, 1907, chapter 183, p. 215

^ "An act authorizing the construction, acquisition, maintenance and control of a system of state highways in the State of California...", approved March 22, 1909, chapter 383, p. 647

^ Blow, pp. 27-34

^ Howe & Peters, p. 12

^ ^a ^b Automobile Clubs, p. 16

^ Blow, p. 2

^ Department of Engineering (1917), p. 198

^ Howe & Peters, pp. 11-14

^ Home & Peters, p. 18

^ Howe & Peters, pp. 12-14

^ How & Peters, p. 17

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e California Department of Transportation, Fact Sheet: Important Events in Caltrans History

^ ^a ^b ^c "An act declaring the public highway extending from Auburn in Placer County to the Sonora Lateral at Sonora in Tuolumne county to be a state highway.", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 839, p. 1608

^ ^a ^b "An act authorizing and directing the California highway commission to acquire necessary rights of way, and to construct and maintain a highway, which is hereby declared to be a state highway, extending from Barstow...to a point...on the boundary line between the state of California and the state of Nevada...which said highway is commonly known and referred to as the Arrowhead trail.", approved May 23, 1925, chapter 369, p. 670

California Highways and Public Works
, March–April 1964, p. 11

^ "An act establishing certain additional state highways and classifying them as secondary highways", approved April 1, 1931, chapter 82, p. 102, in effect August 14, 1931

^ 1933, chapter 767, p. 2034

^ Joint Fact-Finding Committee on Highways, Streets and Bridges, California's Highway Problem, 1947, OCLC 4650558, p. 29

Archive.org
.

^ Richard R. Mathison, Three Cars in Every Garage: A Motorist's History of the Automobile and the Automobile Club in Southern California, Doubleday, 1968, OCLC 435368, p. 240

^ California Highways and Public Works, March–April 1964, Route Renumbering (PDF)

^ Raymond Forsyth and Joseph Hagwood, One Hundred Years of Progress (Sacramento: California Transportation Foundation, 1996)128.

^ "An act declaring the wagon road extending from the western end of the Lake Tahoe state wagon road to the eastern limits of the city of Placerville to be a state highway.", approved April 10, 1915, chapter 32, p. 41

^ ^a ^b "An act to declare a part of the Sonora and Mono wagon road, commencing east of Sonora, at a point known as Long Barn...and running thence across the summit of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Bridgeport...a state highway.", approved March 12, 1901, chapter 111, p. 272

^ "An act declaring the public highway extending from Long Barn...to the eastern boundary of the city of Sonora to be a public state highway.", approved May 27, 1919, chapter 510, p. 1069

^ ^a ^b "An act to take title to and thereafter maintain as a state highway, the toll road in Tuolumne and Mariposa counties, known as the Big Oak Flat and Yosemite road, also a section of Tuolumne county road to connect said toll road with the Sonora lateral of the state highway.", approved May 19, 1915, chapter 396, p. 635

^ ^a ^b ^c "An act to establish the Alpine state highway; to define its course...", approved April 15, 1911, chapter 468, p. 931

^ "An act declaring the county road in Calaveras county, extending from Angels Camp through Vallecita and Murphy to Calaveras Big Trees in the national forest to be a state highway.", approved May 23, 1925, chapter 375, p. 689

^ "An act declaring a state highway from the Shasta county line through Lassen county to the Modoc county line...", approved April 22, 1911, chapter 498, p. 1036

^ "An act making an appropriation to pay the cost of making a survey and preparing plans and estimates for the construction of a highway from the town of Alturas in Modoc county to the Nevada-California state line by the most direct and practical route via Cedarville connecting with the proposed Nevada state highway.", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 888, p. 1685

^ "An act to provide for the survey, location and construction of a state highway connecting the present county road systems of any one or all of the counties of Trinity, Tehama and Shasta with the road system of Humboldt County...", approved March 23, 1907, chapter 117, p. 139

^ "An act to make an appropriation for the location, survey and construction of a state highway from a point known as the Mount Pleasant ranch on the road between Quincy and Marysville thence in a southeasterly direction by Eureka to Downieville, Sierra County.", approved March 8, 1907, chapter 116, p. 138

^ "An act to make an appropriation for the location, survey and construction of a state highway from Emigrant Gap...to the west end of Donner Lake...", approved March 13, 1909, chapter 224, p. 352

^ ^a ^b "An act declaring the wagon road from McKinney's to the west end of Donner Lake a state highway." approved May 18, 1915, chapter 203, p. 441

^ "An act declaring the county road extending from Auburn...to a point near Emigrant Gap, a state highway...", approved June 9, 1915, chapter 678, p. 1327

^ "An act to provide a state highway from Meyer's station...to McKinney's...", approved March 9, 1911, chapter 158, p. 324

^ "An act declaring and establishing a state highway from the town of Truckee running in a northeasterly direction along the present traveled road to the Nevada state line near Verdi.", approved April 15, 1919, chapter 66, p. 102

^ "An act making an appropriation for the location, survey and construction of a state highway from Tahoe city...along the northern boundary of Lake Tahoe to the western boundary of the State of Nevada at Crystal Bay...", approved June 9, 1915, chapter 680, p. 1328

^ "An act to appropriate money to purchase a portion of the Great Sierra Wagon Road and to provide for the acceptance and maintenance of said road as a state road.", approved May 18, 1915, chapter 306, p. 488

^ "An act extending the Mono Lake basin state road easterly to a junction with the county road from Mono Lake postoffice to Mono Mills.", approved May 29, 1917, chapter 704, p. 1326

^ "An act to provide for the continuation of the construction of the highway known as King's river highway, to declare it a state highway...", approved March 13, 1909, chapter 223, p. 351

^ ^a ^b "An act to provide for the survey and construction of a state highway from Saratoga Gap, on the line between the counties of Santa Clara and Santa Cruz, to, into and within California Redwood Park...", approved June 13, 1913, chapter 398, p. 855

^ "An act declaring and establishing a state highway from the city of San Bernardino, by way of Arrowhead avenue, Waterman canyon, the 'Crest drive' and Mill creek to the city of Redlands.", approved May 29, 1917, chapter 697, p. 1314

^ "An act providing for the taking over by the state of California of a certain road in Boulder Creek township...and for the maintenance and improvement of the same as a state highway...", approved May 29, 1917, chapter 703, p. 1325

^ "An act declaring and establishing a state highway between the present state highway in Butte county and the present state highway in Glenn county, over existing county roads passing through Butte city and Glenn postoffice to Willows.", approved May 27, 1919, chapter 542, p. 1190

^ "An act declaring the improved county road extending from Rio Vista to Lodi to be a state highway.", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 831, p. 1597

^ "An act declaring the county road extending from San Simeon to Cambria to be a state highway and providing for the maintenance thereof.", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 837, p. 1606

^ "An act authorizing and directing the California highway commission to acquire necessary rights of way, and to construct and maintain...a state highway, extending from Needles...to a point...on the boundary line between the State of California and the state of Arizona opposite the town of Topock, Arizona...", approved May 22, 1925, chapter 279, p. 463

^ "An act authorizing and directing the California highway commission to acquire necessary rights of way and to construct and maintain...a state highway, extending from the town of Oxnard to a point...upon the state highway extending from Los Angeles to Ventura, such point to be at or near the town of El Rio...", approved May 22, 1925, chapter 309, p. 508

^ "An act providing for the taking over by the State of California of a certain road in the county of San Joaquin...", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 845, p. 1627

^ "An act declaring and establishing a state highway between a point near Chittenden station in San Benito county, to a point on route two of the state highway in the vicinity of San Benito river bridge.", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 836, p. 1606

^ "An act authorizing and directing the California highway commission to lay out and acquire a right of way or rights of way for a highway or highways from the county line of the city and county of San Francisco, in, to and through San Mateo county...", approved May 18, 1923, chapter 181, p. 422

^ "An act to provide for the establishment of a highway, to be known as the Bay Shore highway, in the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara.", approved May 23, 1925, chapter 471, p. 1009

^ "An act declaring the public highway extending from Irwin street within the corporate limits of the city of San Rafael, in Marin county, California, to Point San Quentin, in Marin county, California, to be a state highway.", approved April 20, 1925, chapter 82, p. 190

^ "An act providing for the taking over by the State of California of a certain road in the county of Mendocino and declaring the same to be a state highway...", approved May 23, 1925, chapter 351, p. 635

^ "An act providing for the taking over by the State of California of a certain road in the county of Del Norte, and declaring the same to be a state highway...", approved May 23, 1925, chapter 335, p. 572

References

Department of Engineering, Fifth Biennial Report of the Department of Engineering of the State of California, December 1, 1914, to November 30, 1916
, 1917

Ben Blow, California Highways: A Descriptive Record of Road Development by the State and by Such Counties as Have Paved Highways, 1920 (Archive.org or Google Books)

Howe & Peters, Engineers' Report to California State Automobile Association Covering the Work of the California Highway Commission for the Period 1911-1920

California State Automobile Association, The State Highways of California: An Engineering Study
, 1921

Further reading

Brown, Jody; Everson, Dicken; Heck, Gene; Hobbs, Kelly; Huddleson, Julia; Medin, Anmarie; Mikesell, Steve; Moffett, Chad; Scott, Gloria; Nayyar, Margo; Swope, Karen; Thompson, Scott; Wooten, Kimberly; Cismowski, Deborah (2016). A Historical Context and Methodology for Evaluating Trails, Roads, and Highways in California (PDF) (Report). California Department of Transportation.

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Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_California%27s_state_highway_system&oldid=1209469477"

[1895-128-1] "An act to authorize the state of California to secure the title to and right of way for that certain wagon-road...commencing a short distance easterly from the village of Smith's Flat...and running thence to Lake Tahoe...", approved March 26, 1895, chapter 128, p. 119

[2] Report of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road Commissioner, November 29, 1898

[centennial-3] California Highways and Public Works
, Centennial Edition, September 9, 1950

[4] Department of Engineering (1917), p. 181

[5] Blow, pp. 12-15

[6] Blow, p. 18

[1897-176-7] "An act to provide for the construction of a state highway or wagon road from Sacramento City to Folsom...", approved March 29, 1897, chapter 176, p. 239

[1899-26-8] "An act to provide for the construction of a free wagon road from the Mono lake basin to connect with a road called 'Tioga road,' at or near the 'Tioga mine,' and making an appropriation therefor.", approved February 23, 1899, chapter 26, p. 26

[1907-183-9] "An act to create for the State of California a department of engineering...", approved March 11, 1907, chapter 183, p. 215

[1909-383-10] "An act authorizing the construction, acquisition, maintenance and control of a system of state highways in the State of California...", approved March 22, 1909, chapter 383, p. 647

[11] Blow, pp. 27-34

[12] Howe & Peters, p. 12

[Automobile_Clubs,_p._16-13] Automobile Clubs, p. 16

[14] Blow, p. 2

[15] Department of Engineering (1917), p. 198

[16] Howe & Peters, pp. 11-14

[17] Home & Peters, p. 18

[18] Howe & Peters, pp. 12-14

[19] How & Peters, p. 17

[Caltrans-20] California Department of Transportation, Fact Sheet: Important Events in Caltrans History

[1921-839-21] "An act declaring the public highway extending from Auburn in Placer County to the Sonora Lateral at Sonora in Tuolumne county to be a state highway.", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 839, p. 1608

[1925-369-22] "An act authorizing and directing the California highway commission to acquire necessary rights of way, and to construct and maintain a highway, which is hereby declared to be a state highway, extending from Barstow...to a point...on the boundary line between the state of California and the state of Nevada...which said highway is commonly known and referred to as the Arrowhead trail.", approved May 23, 1925, chapter 369, p. 670

[23] California Highways and Public Works
, March–April 1964, p. 11

[1931-82-24] "An act establishing certain additional state highways and classifying them as secondary highways", approved April 1, 1931, chapter 82, p. 102, in effect August 14, 1931

[25] 1933, chapter 767, p. 2034

[26] Joint Fact-Finding Committee on Highways, Streets and Bridges, California's Highway Problem, 1947, OCLC 4650558, p. 29

[27] Archive.org
.

[28] Richard R. Mathison, Three Cars in Every Garage: A Motorist's History of the Automobile and the Automobile Club in Southern California, Doubleday, 1968, OCLC 435368, p. 240

[29] California Highways and Public Works, March–April 1964, Route Renumbering (PDF)

[30] Raymond Forsyth and Joseph Hagwood, One Hundred Years of Progress (Sacramento: California Transportation Foundation, 1996)128.

[1915-32-31] "An act declaring the wagon road extending from the western end of the Lake Tahoe state wagon road to the eastern limits of the city of Placerville to be a state highway.", approved April 10, 1915, chapter 32, p. 41

[1901-111-32] "An act to declare a part of the Sonora and Mono wagon road, commencing east of Sonora, at a point known as Long Barn...and running thence across the summit of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Bridgeport...a state highway.", approved March 12, 1901, chapter 111, p. 272

[1919-510-33] "An act declaring the public highway extending from Long Barn...to the eastern boundary of the city of Sonora to be a public state highway.", approved May 27, 1919, chapter 510, p. 1069

[1915-396-34] "An act to take title to and thereafter maintain as a state highway, the toll road in Tuolumne and Mariposa counties, known as the Big Oak Flat and Yosemite road, also a section of Tuolumne county road to connect said toll road with the Sonora lateral of the state highway.", approved May 19, 1915, chapter 396, p. 635

[1911-468-35] "An act to establish the Alpine state highway; to define its course...", approved April 15, 1911, chapter 468, p. 931

[1925-375-36] "An act declaring the county road in Calaveras county, extending from Angels Camp through Vallecita and Murphy to Calaveras Big Trees in the national forest to be a state highway.", approved May 23, 1925, chapter 375, p. 689

[1911-498-37] "An act declaring a state highway from the Shasta county line through Lassen county to the Modoc county line...", approved April 22, 1911, chapter 498, p. 1036

[1921-888-38] "An act making an appropriation to pay the cost of making a survey and preparing plans and estimates for the construction of a highway from the town of Alturas in Modoc county to the Nevada-California state line by the most direct and practical route via Cedarville connecting with the proposed Nevada state highway.", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 888, p. 1685

[1907-117-39] "An act to provide for the survey, location and construction of a state highway connecting the present county road systems of any one or all of the counties of Trinity, Tehama and Shasta with the road system of Humboldt County...", approved March 23, 1907, chapter 117, p. 139

[1907-116-40] "An act to make an appropriation for the location, survey and construction of a state highway from a point known as the Mount Pleasant ranch on the road between Quincy and Marysville thence in a southeasterly direction by Eureka to Downieville, Sierra County.", approved March 8, 1907, chapter 116, p. 138

[1909-224-41] "An act to make an appropriation for the location, survey and construction of a state highway from Emigrant Gap...to the west end of Donner Lake...", approved March 13, 1909, chapter 224, p. 352

[1915-203-42] "An act declaring the wagon road from McKinney's to the west end of Donner Lake a state highway." approved May 18, 1915, chapter 203, p. 441

[1915-678-43] "An act declaring the county road extending from Auburn...to a point near Emigrant Gap, a state highway...", approved June 9, 1915, chapter 678, p. 1327

[1911-158-44] "An act to provide a state highway from Meyer's station...to McKinney's...", approved March 9, 1911, chapter 158, p. 324

[1919-66-45] "An act declaring and establishing a state highway from the town of Truckee running in a northeasterly direction along the present traveled road to the Nevada state line near Verdi.", approved April 15, 1919, chapter 66, p. 102

[1915-680-46] "An act making an appropriation for the location, survey and construction of a state highway from Tahoe city...along the northern boundary of Lake Tahoe to the western boundary of the State of Nevada at Crystal Bay...", approved June 9, 1915, chapter 680, p. 1328

[1915-306-47] "An act to appropriate money to purchase a portion of the Great Sierra Wagon Road and to provide for the acceptance and maintenance of said road as a state road.", approved May 18, 1915, chapter 306, p. 488

[1917-704-48] "An act extending the Mono Lake basin state road easterly to a junction with the county road from Mono Lake postoffice to Mono Mills.", approved May 29, 1917, chapter 704, p. 1326

[1909-223-49] "An act to provide for the continuation of the construction of the highway known as King's river highway, to declare it a state highway...", approved March 13, 1909, chapter 223, p. 351

[1913-398-50] "An act to provide for the survey and construction of a state highway from Saratoga Gap, on the line between the counties of Santa Clara and Santa Cruz, to, into and within California Redwood Park...", approved June 13, 1913, chapter 398, p. 855

[1917-697-51] "An act declaring and establishing a state highway from the city of San Bernardino, by way of Arrowhead avenue, Waterman canyon, the 'Crest drive' and Mill creek to the city of Redlands.", approved May 29, 1917, chapter 697, p. 1314

[1917-703-52] "An act providing for the taking over by the state of California of a certain road in Boulder Creek township...and for the maintenance and improvement of the same as a state highway...", approved May 29, 1917, chapter 703, p. 1325

[1919-542-53] "An act declaring and establishing a state highway between the present state highway in Butte county and the present state highway in Glenn county, over existing county roads passing through Butte city and Glenn postoffice to Willows.", approved May 27, 1919, chapter 542, p. 1190

[1921-831-54] "An act declaring the improved county road extending from Rio Vista to Lodi to be a state highway.", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 831, p. 1597

[1921-837-55] "An act declaring the county road extending from San Simeon to Cambria to be a state highway and providing for the maintenance thereof.", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 837, p. 1606

[1925-279-56] "An act authorizing and directing the California highway commission to acquire necessary rights of way, and to construct and maintain...a state highway, extending from Needles...to a point...on the boundary line between the State of California and the state of Arizona opposite the town of Topock, Arizona...", approved May 22, 1925, chapter 279, p. 463

[1925-309-57] "An act authorizing and directing the California highway commission to acquire necessary rights of way and to construct and maintain...a state highway, extending from the town of Oxnard to a point...upon the state highway extending from Los Angeles to Ventura, such point to be at or near the town of El Rio...", approved May 22, 1925, chapter 309, p. 508

[1921-845-58] "An act providing for the taking over by the State of California of a certain road in the county of San Joaquin...", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 845, p. 1627

[1921-836-59] "An act declaring and establishing a state highway between a point near Chittenden station in San Benito county, to a point on route two of the state highway in the vicinity of San Benito river bridge.", approved June 3, 1921, chapter 836, p. 1606

[1923-181-60] "An act authorizing and directing the California highway commission to lay out and acquire a right of way or rights of way for a highway or highways from the county line of the city and county of San Francisco, in, to and through San Mateo county...", approved May 18, 1923, chapter 181, p. 422

[1925-471-61] "An act to provide for the establishment of a highway, to be known as the Bay Shore highway, in the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara.", approved May 23, 1925, chapter 471, p. 1009

[1925-82-62] "An act declaring the public highway extending from Irwin street within the corporate limits of the city of San Rafael, in Marin county, California, to Point San Quentin, in Marin county, California, to be a state highway.", approved April 20, 1925, chapter 82, p. 190

[1925-351-63] "An act providing for the taking over by the State of California of a certain road in the county of Mendocino and declaring the same to be a state highway...", approved May 23, 1925, chapter 351, p. 635

[1925-335-64] "An act providing for the taking over by the State of California of a certain road in the county of Del Norte, and declaring the same to be a state highway...", approved May 23, 1925, chapter 335, p. 572

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[8]

[14]

[15]

[17]

[13]

[18]

[19]

[23]

[20]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[33]

[34]

[35]

[38]

[22]

[39]

[40]

Donner Lake

[42]

[43]

[46]

[47]

[48]

[49]

[50]

[51]

[52]

[53]

[54]

[55]

[56]

[57]

[21]

[58]

[59]

[60]

[61]

[62]

[63]

[64]

1895 to 1919

1920 to 1958

The "Great Renumbering" of 1964

1964 to present

List of route numbers, 1917-1931

See also

Notes

References

Further reading