Category Archives: Corona

Following old US 91 near Corona

I took a trip recently to the Corona area to check out some of the old alignments of US 91. I had been there before, but it has been a long time. Starting from the Green River exit off of the 91 Freeway, I headed east along the south side of the freeway. Here, the roadways named Green River Road and Palisades Drive cover the pre-freeway alignment of US 91. This section is also a portion of the 1939 Prado Dam Relocation. This realignment took the highway out of the riverbed to the north and pushed it closer to the hills. A significant portion remains today relatively intact.

Near the Green River Road interchange, an abandoned portion of the roadbed is revealed by a 1939 culvert. The pavement has long since been removed. A portion of the old median, complete with curb divots, remains to the east. The best portion, however, is on Palisades Drive. This section has a fairly continuous old median, old bridges, wooden railing, and even a mile marker from Route 91. This whole section was bypassed in the early 1970’s along with a change to the 91 / 71 interchange.

Abandoned section of US 91 near Green River Road.
Abandoned section of US 91 near Green River Road.
1939 culvert on the abandoned section.
1939 culvert on the abandoned section.
Old raised median on Green River Road.
Old raised median on Green River Road.
Section of Palisades Drive, restriped to two lanes from four. Old raised median and wooden railing are visible here.
Section of Palisades Drive, restriped to two lanes from four. Old raised median and wooden railing are visible here.
Nice section of intact wooden railing.
Nice section of intact wooden railing.
Old Route 91 milemarker.
Old Route 91 milemarker. Reads “091, RIV, mileage illegible”
Former onramp from SB State 71 to WB US 91.
Former onramp from SB State 71 to WB US 91.
1939 bridge and railing near the eastern end.
1939 bridge and railing near the eastern end.