Category Archives: Ninja 500R

Banning, Beaumont, Calimesa, District 8, Highways, History, I-10, Maps, Motorcycle, Ninja 500R, Old Alignment, Old Bridge, Riverside County, Road Signs, Roads, SR-60, US 60, US 70, US 99

US 99 – Edom to Calimesa – Part 2

January 16, 2021 Michael F Ballard 2 Comments

Part 2 – Banning to Calimesa

Banning and Beaumont
Ramsey St and 6th St

Through the town of Banning, US 99 was first paved with a 16′ concrete slab in 1922, similar to sections east of town. Minor improvements were made a few years later in 1925. Beaumont would get theirs in 1923, albeit a with a 20′ concrete slab. No real changes would take place until early 1940, when a four-lane expressway was constructed between the west side of Banning to the US 60 junction in Beaumont. Remnants of this expressway remain today, mostly visible between Sunset Avenue and Highland Springs Avenue. Generally, the eastbound lanes follow the 1922/23 alignment of US 99.

East end of Banning at Hathaway St with a mystery culvert in the foreground.

Culvert, possibly 1920’s, along Ramsey St near Hathaway St, looking easterly.

Original Auto Club sign in Banning at Ramsey St / 2nd St, since removed.

In mid-1955, construction began on the first section of freeway through the pass. This first section would bypass the two-lane roadway through central Banning, eliminating the last major bottleneck in the region. It was constructed between 22nd St and the east end of Banning. On May 21, 1956, the eastbound lanes of the freeway opened. The westbound lanes finally opened July 3, 1956.

1950’s postcard showing the old western Banning exit and signage. This was located just east of the 22nd St interchange.

1961 USGS map showing the Banning Freeway

In August 1962, the freeway was extended to bypass Beaumont as well. The freeway was modified again in 1972, when it was widened to eight-lanes and the former eastbound Ramsey St exit near 22nd St was eliminated.

1962 signage at the west end of 6th St, since replaced. The sign on the left formerly had US 60 until it was overlaid by a State 60 shield. The overlay on the right covers a US 70 and US 99 shields.

1962 Signage on I-10 at the 60 split, since replaced. The sign to the left still had a visible US 60 shield under the overlay until late 2020.

Beaumont to Calimesa
San Timoteo Canyon to Sandalwood Dr

West of Beaumont, the original alignment of US 99 gets a bit tougher to follow as the construction of I-10 has removed many sections and broken up the continuity.

Desert Lawn Dr

Starting just west of the 10/60 interchange, a short section of original alignment can be followed on Desert Lawn Dr. In 1919, the roadway was graded from Calimesa to Beaumont. Starting in late 1924, the roadway was finally paved with a 20′ wide concrete slab. Improvements were made at the crossings of San Timoteo Creek in 1930 and 1939. In 1950, what is now Desert Lawn Dr from San Timoteo Canyon Road east became the eastbound/southbound side of the US 99 expressway. Finally in 1965, the new I-10 freeway was built, obliterating both the old expressway and many sections of original alignment. Desert Lawn Dr essentially became a frontage road.

1939 Middle Fork San Timoteo Creek bridge with original wooden railing and curbing.

Date stamp on the Middle Fork San Timoteo Creek bridge.

Roberts Rd / Cooper Dr

Roberts Road west of Cherry Valley Blvd to near Singleton Rd follows the 1925 alignment of US 99. This section has the last intact and fully exposed concrete from that era. Its days seem to be numbered as well, as a major development adjacent threatens to realign and bury this concrete. For now, it remains as a window to US 99’s past. This section was bypassed by an alignment now buried by I-10 in 1937, which was subsequently upgraded to an expressway in 1950.

Sections like this need to be saved, if possible. This is where the Historic Highway 99 Association of California can come in. If you’d like to join that effort and work to save what is left of old US 99, check them out at https://historic99.org.

Looking toward Cherry Valley Blvd along Roberts Road.

Date stamp on Roberts Road from May 9, 1925.

On Cooper Dr looking easterly toward Roberts Road. This was used as a driveway until somewhat recently. The alignment merges back into I-10 at this point.

1953 USGS map showing the area around Roberts Road from Brookside Ave to Singleton Rd. I-10 roughly follows the expressway shown.

Calimesa Blvd
Cherry Valley Blvd to Live Oak Canyon Rd

Between Cherry Valley Blvd and Live Oak Canyon Road, the old alignment of US 99 follows Calimesa Blvd. The sections from just north of El Casco Creek to Sandalwood Dr, with the exception of the area around Singleton Rd, are all that remain of the westbound/northbound side of the 1950 expressway. Impressively, from Chandler Ave to Sandalwood Dr, long sections of 1950 metal guardrail still remain along the west/south side of the roadway.

Along Calimesa Blvd between Cherry Valley Blvd and Singleton Rd.

1937 side of the El Casco Creek Bridge. This was widened in 1950. I-10 is now carried over the structure.

1937 date stomp on the bridge/culvert across El Casco Creek.

Calimesa
Calimesa Blvd

1953 USGS map showing the Calimesa area.

1953 USGS map showing the south end of Calimesa.

1967 USGS map showing the new I-10 freeway and changes to the alignment.

1967 USGS map showing the south end of Calimesa.

Calimesa marks the boundary between Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The main road, Calimesa Blvd, follows the original alignment of US 99 with little deviation most of the way to Live Oak Canyon Rd. In 1951, the town was bypassed by a new expressway, which diverged from the original alignment Myrtlewood Dr and Wildwood Canyon Rd. In 1965, the expressway was reconstructed as the I-10 freeway, and the Calimesa bypass was shifted east to Sandalwood Dr. The freeway was also shifted slightly south, converting the former NB/WB lanes of the US 99 expressway to a frontage road. Many remnants of the expressway are still visible today in the form of small culverts crossing an adjacent drainage ditch. At Yucaipa Creek, an original 1920’s bridge/culvert complete with railing is still intact.

Original wooden and concrete railing at Yucaipa Creek.

Further north/west, a small section of the 1925 concrete is still visible on the right side of the roadway where the roadway was realigned slightly at a curve.

1925 concrete adjacent to Calimesa Blvd approaching Live Oak Canyon Rd.

Long view of the concrete, looking easterly.

Blue Cut Fire Damage – Highways

September 12, 2016 Michael F Ballard Leave a comment

On September 6, 2016, I finally got a chance to survey the damage to the roadways in Cajon Pass that were involved in the Blue Cut Fire. Portions of the area are still closed, specifically the area north of Cajon Junction, so I was unable to access the Alray UP or the abandoned expressway sections in that area.

I was, however, able to inspect State 138 east of I-15 and all of old US 66 / 91 / 395 south of Cajon Junction. I chose not to investigate State 138 west of I-15 as there was a lot of heavy construction in progress for a four-lane widening project.

I started my journey by taking the “new” Cajon Blvd alignment that bypasses Devore Junction (I-15 and I-215). Caltrans has recently completed reconstruction of this interchange and as part of that reconstruction, they have partly rebuilt Cajon Blvd through here. While much of it is a new alignment, it does follow the original alignment (pre-1937). As a result, I was able to get some nice photos of part of that alignment.

New section of Cajon Blvd adjacent of I-15, south of Kenwood Road.

Looking southerly along Cajon Blvd toward I-15.

Pre-1937 alignment of US 66 / 395 running along the base of the cliff.

The burn area itself became very apparent after Kenwood Road. The fire in this area burned as far as Keenbrook, damaging many structures in that area. A few things didn’t get burned though. One, a lone sign that says “EAT” along with its accompanying structure, remained intact. At Blue Cut, the source of the fire, I was rather amazed at what didn’t burn. Most of the cottonwood and oak trees survived untouched as well as most of the guardrail in the median of the expressway.

Just north of Kenwood Road looking toward Keenbrook. Burn area is evident near the trees in the distance as well as in the mountains.

South end of Blue Cut showing fire damage.

Looking westerly at Blue Cut. The fire burned all around here, but left most of the trees intact.

At Blue Cut, looking easterly. Despite the name of the fire, it didn't do that much damage here. — At Blue Cut, looking easterly. Despite the name of the fire, it didn’t do that much damage here.

North of Blue Cut, the burn area stops mostly at the old highway, but not east of it. The wooden railing is still intact at Debris Cone Creek. Some structures were damaged near Cajon Junction, such as the Chevron gas station and the McDonalds restaurant.

Looking northerly from the Cleghorn Creek Bridge toward Cleghorn Road. Utility crews are visible in the distance. — Looking northerly from the Debris Cone Creek Bridge toward Cleghorn Road. Utility crews are visible in the distance.

1939 bridge over Debris Cone Creek. Concrete K-rail was added later to protect the wooden railing.

Side view of the 1939 Debris Cone Creek Bridge with its 1952 counterpart. The cross beams in the railing were removed at some point in the past few years. The fire burnt up to the edge of the 1952 span.

Old railing just south of Cajon Junction, just missed by the fire.

After Cajon Junction, I followed State 138 east toward Summit. The burn area covered the entire highway from Cajon Junction to Summit Valley Road. This section is scheduled to be realigned in the near future as well.

Hwy 138 and the Cajon Amphitheater from Summit.

Overall, most of the old highways through the Cajon Pass remained intact. Some guardrail was damaged but most was only lightly burned. How this area will react during the next few major rain storms does remain to be seen. Hopefully, mudslides and debris flows don’t become the order of the day.

California, DMV, Motorcycle, Ninja 500R

Mileage Based Road Taxes

June 30, 2016 Michael F Ballard Leave a comment

California is implementing a pilot program for mileage based taxes, in lieu of the gas tax, to provide monies for roadway maintenance and improvements. I have volunteered for this program. It doesn’t cost anything, which is good. I certainly don’t wish to pay twice for taxes. SB 1077, the bill which implements the study for the “California Road Charge Program“, is simply an experiment. Will this help us in the long run? I guess we shall see. I am apprehensive about it and am not necessarily in favor of it. However, as it is free and a perfect way to gain insight as to its viability, I’m in.

I will report, on occasion, about this program and how it works. It starts July 1. As I only have a motorcycle as motorized transport, it will indeed be an interesting test. I will test different methods of reporting to see how it works. Who knows what the future holds for the gas tax at this point?

California, District 11, Highways, Motorcycle, Ninja 500R, Oceanside, Old Alignment, Roads, San Diego County, Southern California, SR-78

Old Highway 78 near Oceanside, CA

June 29, 2016 Michael F Ballard Leave a comment

State Route 78, one of the original State Highways in the region, has has undergone many changes since it was originally built. Most of the original routing west of Vista, CA, known as Vista Way, has been eliminated by the current alignment of the highway. By the 1960’s, State 78 was an expressway west of Vista, CA. It was gradually upgraded further to a full freeway, bypassing or replacing yet more of the original alignment. Today, there are some original sections still around, albeit very short. The two main sections of old paving, mostly dating to the late 1920’s to early 1930’s, exists near El Camino Real and College Ave in the Oceanside area.

The first section, near El Camino Real, is located on Haymar Dr / S Vista Way and is only partly exposed. Here, the concrete has been repaved but is showing through some of the potholes.

S Vista Way just west of El Camino Real in Oceanside. Note the concrete peeking out from under the asphalt.

Closer view of the concrete paving beneath.

To the east of this section, there is another and more exposed bit of old paving. Adjacent to the Marron Adobe on Haymar Dr (old Vista Way), this paving still retains the feel of the old roadway. No date stamps could be found, but the style of the concrete seems to date it from 1926 to 1935.