On July 6, 2021 at 6 pm, I will be giving a presentation for the Historic Highway 99 Association of California on the history of US 99 through the San Gorgonio Pass. The route will be covered from Thousand Palms to Calimesa. Photos of the route, new and old, as well as maps showing the various alignments will be shown. Come join us!
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEqd-moqj4vHdJw6RL5SEOPiOfdgV2J3M4G
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Calimesa
Calimesa Blvd
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.
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.
Varner Road and Garnet Road
Thousand Palms to Garnet
From Thousand Palms to Garnet, old US 99 ran along Varner Road and Garnet Road. This was the original alignment and lasted until the 1940’s when this section was upgraded to an expressway on a new alignment.
In January 1922, construction began on what would become US 99. It was paved with a 16′ concrete slab. This was done in sections, with the first being between Whitewater and Edom. In May 1926, the roadway was widened with a new 4′ slab on one side, though this varied near curves, such as around Garnet Hill, where the widening work was used to soften the curves. In 1949, the roadway was paved over with asphalt, a covering which remains east of Palm Dr. Only a short while later, in 1952, the whole section would be bypassed by the alignment now covered by I-10.
Varner Road
Garnet Road
In late 2019, the old and degraded asphalt covering on Varner Rd was removed from Palm Dr to the terminus near I-10, revealing nearly pristine concrete. The roadway may not last in this condition, as there is a potential for commercial development in this area.
Whitewater
At Whitewater, the original alignment bends north from I-10 to cross the Whitewater River on a 1923 bridge. This bridge remains with almost no modifications since its construction. The approaches at both ends retain their original concrete as well, dating to 1922 with widening strips from 1926.
In 1952, the bridge was bypassed by a new alignment to the south. This new alignment was built as a four-lane expressway and was converted to an eight-lane freeway in 1967 as I-10.
Railroad Ave / Main St / Johnson Ln
Whitewater to Banning
Railroad Ave from about 0.25 miles west of Haugen-Lehmann Way to Cabazon follows the original alignment of US 99. The roadway today acts as a frontage road to I-10. At Cabazon, the road becomes Main St. Between Morongo Trail and Banning, old US 99 followed Johnson Ln.
This section of old 99 has a similar story as earlier. Paved in 1922 with a 16′ concrete slab, widened in 1926 with a 4′ slab. Improvements were made in 1934, such as bridge widening and resurfacing. In 1940, the highway was widened to a four-lane expressway from Beaumont with a narrow median. Much of this roadway remains, albeit heavily modified. Eastbound I-10 encompasses former northbound US 99 with some of the 1940 bridges still in use. The frontage road, Railroad Ave, is the former southbound and original roadway. Portions of the road bear the marks showing the 1922 / 1926 concrete below.
Approaching Cabazon, portions of the former 1940 roadway is still visible though abandoned. It is a small section running about 0.4 miles east of Main St where it intersects I-10 south of the east Cabazon exit.
In Cabazon proper, the highway widens to four lanes again. While the median was modified in later years, this section retains most of the “feel” of the old 1940 expressway. Heading west from Cabazon at Morongo Trail, the old alignment follows a partially abandoned frontage road. Access at the east end can be a bit tricky but has improved in recent years. Two culverts were removed between Morongo Trail and Malki Road (formerly Apache Trail), so use caution traveling this roadway.
Just west of the the Malki Road interchange, the San Gorgonio Wash bridge is crossed. It was originally constructed in 1925 and widened in 1935. I-10 occupies the former northbound side of the expressway here, with the 1940 bridge still in use, albeit widened in 1970. The bridge railing for the 1925 span is unusual as, when it was widened in 1935, the original style was kept. Normally, a more modern railing is used.
West of the San Gorgonio Wash bridge, the roadway is diverted again for the eastbound I-10 truck scales. At the east Banning interchange, the roadway finally ends. Travel to Banning requires taking I-10 from Malki Road to Ramsey St.
