As an addition to the “High Points” on the Highways pages, I have added a new page which summarizes all the major passes in Southern California. Postmiles, or mileposts, have also been added as well to the list. If you see any missing or find some errors in the data, let me know.
Category Archives: Highways
Featured Image – 1/19/2020
City of San Diego – 1970
The City of San Diego Clerk has been placing a large number of videos on YouTube over the past few months which are quite unique and eye-opening. In 1970, the City created videos of many of the roadways in San Diego. These are done in the same manner as Caltrans Photologs, which essentially takes a photo of the road every few feet or so, creating a fast motion video of the road. Roads such as Murphy Canyon Road and Kearny Villa Road no longer exist in the same manner as they did back then. Both have been greatly modified by I-15 and State 163. Some of the street names don’t match current names, however. Black Mountain Road, as shown in the video, is basically Del Mar Heights Road and Landsdale Dr, among others. Miramar Rd, in the video, covers current Eastgate Mall as well, as it was the old alignment of Miramar Rd through to UCSD.
These videos show this and more. Why not see it for yourself and be amazed! Try and count the number of spinning gas station signs too.
San Diego City Clerk YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn1v1JAjFEEvqMi-VHpee5w/videos
New Feature – Pass Heights
With all the snow this winter, not to mention the low elevations it has been falling, I thought it would be a good idea to add a “High Points” section to the Southern California Highways pages. These points, so far just name and elevation, show the highest points along each roadway and are located near the top of each route page. In time, I plan to add postmile or exit number, when applicable. Not all routes will have this, as they don’t all have named summits or passes. So far, all the main routes are covered (I-5, I-10, I-15, I-40, SR-74) as well as a few others.
Have a suggestion to add? Let us know!
Featured Image – 12/23/2019
Here at Grapevine, a small section of concrete is visible adjacent to the southbound lanes of I-5. This is a section of former US 99. A small color difference can be noticed between the two lanes that are visible. This difference is due to age. The lanes to the left were constructed in 1932 when Grapevine Grade was realigned, bypassing the original 1914 Ridge Route grade. This was built as two lanes as a temporary measure to expedite the opening of the new route. Right after it was opened, a third lane was added, the lane on the right, creating a three-lane roadway with a common passing lane in the center, or “suicide lane”. This condition persisted until 1943 when the road was widened yet again to four lanes. In 1959 – 1960, these lanes were bypassed by the current southbound lanes of I-5. Today, they remain as one of the last remnants of the 1932-1959 version of Grapevine Grade.