Inland Route
Three Flags Highway
Introduction
US 395 came to Southern California in 1935. Prior to the route being signed as US 395, it was State Highway 71. Through San Diego County, US 395 followed a few different alignments. The first version of the highway passed through Fallbrook, Bonsall, and Vista before heading to Escondido. In 1947, the highway was realigned to follow the current I-15 route between Escondido and Rainbow. In 1949, 395 was realigned again south of Escondido to Miramar. The period following the major realignments, the 1950’s to 1969, saw mostly improvements to the existing highway. US 395 was upgraded to freeway and expressway south of Escondido with the portion north of Escondido to Riverside County remaining a two-lane roadway.
In 1969, US 395 was decommissioned south of where it met I-15 near Phelan. The route was then designated as I-15 and I-215. With the new Interstate designation, more upgrades would be constructed, this time as a full freeway. These would be slow in coming, however, as the last sections of freeway along the I-15 corridor wouldn’t be completed until the early 1980’s.
Today, what remains of former US 395 is still traversable and quite a fun road to travel. North of the Escondido area, the roadway is known as “Old Highway 395” and retains most of its original pre-freeway features. This website will focus on the remaining roadway and some of its historic alignments before the major realignments in the late 1940’s in San Diego County.
Origin of Pomerado Road
Pomerado Road is a portmanteau of sorts. It combines the names POway, MERton, and BernArDO. Merton is a former settlement located near the present intersection of Pomerado Road and Poway Road. This road name is similar to nearby Espola Road, which was the “EScondido – POway – LAkeside Road”.
Alignments and Maps
US 395 had a few different alignments in the San Diego area. The first, in 1935, started at the intersection of 12th Ave and Market St. By 1948, the start was shifted to Market Street and Harbor Dr. Around 1969, just before US 395 was cut back to Phelan, it ended at Harbor Dr and Pacific Highway. Alignments varied quite a bit from that point until 1948, when it was routed onto the Cabrillo Freeway through Balboa Park and Kearny Mesa.
Photographs
Related Pages
- Southern California Highways
- Finding Old Highways
- Pictorial Guide to Southern California Highways
- Kearny Villa Road in San Diego by Casey Cooper
- Historic Route 395 Association
- US 395 – San Diego by Derrick Garbell – Lots of photos and information about the roadway in San Diego County
I lived on Sunset Dr in Escondido for 50 years!! Just found an old map that has Sunset Dr as Hwy 71 !! I had no idea, no one around knew it was the main highway to Escondido. Thanks for the great site.
Thank you. Yeah, the Sunset Dr alignment between Escondido Blvd and Bear Valley Pkwy didn’t last long, but was a part of the “Inland Route”. So unassuming a road too.
This was exciting to read about . I pass by it every 3 weeks from Riverside to San Diego . Always wondered what ” old highway 395 ” was/ is .. neat !!!
In the 1950’s my family traveled from Redondo Beach (Los Angeles) down to Mount Palomar and up to the Walker River using US 395. . . and points in between. Warm thoughts. Many fond memories..
I really enjoyed the history on this page. Is there anyone who could tell me, or are there any old maps showing, the whole Old Highway 395 route(s) from the Mexican border to Victorville?
I would love to see that route in detail, even if it was a few different routes over time.
I am mostly interested in visible maps.
Thank you!
Michael Haywood
Here’s a link for a 1940s Auto Club map showing the alignment of 395 about six years after it was created out of the previous CA 71. Runs through San Marcos, Vista, Bonsall and Fallbrook before heading out to Rainbow and the alignment that eventually became I-15. North to Elsinore where 395 and 71 split with 395 heading east to Perris and the eventual alignment of I-215. The original route of 395 in San Diego was considerably different from the one we all remember through Balboa Park. http://www.garbell.com/US395-old/highwayman/SDCoACSCmap101-395-0-3.jpg
These maps alone were a treasure to see, not just for Hwy 395 but for the cool perspective it gave on old Hwy 101! Remarkable how separated cities were and how they had designations for having Hotels, Gas and Food… exactly what you’d expect from Auto Club if the era!
US 395 never went to the border. The furthest south it went was the intersection of Market St and Harbor drive in downtown San Diego.