Category: US 99 News

September 2021 Newsletter

US 99 in Colton, California

by Michael F Ballard

Looking west toward the Pepper Ave

A small section of original paving, dating to the late 1910’s is still visible near the intersection of Valley Blvd and Pepper Ave. This section of US 99 was realigned in 1935 to create a gentler curve along with a wider roadway. Little remains of the original paving of US 99 through the Los Angeles area, so this is a special section. In 2008, Valley Blvd was realigned again to the north, obliterating a section of the paving.

Aerial view from 1939 showing the recently realigned Valley Blvd between Pepper Ave and Meridian Ave. Courtesy UCSB
1953 USGS map showing the area. Meridian Ave is at center.
1953 map marked showing the different alignments.
Looking east toward San Gorgonio Mountain
Old Valley Blvd looking west toward Pepper Ave
1935 concrete exposed under old Valley Blvd

September Meeting

Join Michael F Ballard and the Historic Highway 99 Association of California for a presentation on the history of US 99 and the Newhall Pass on September 14, 2021 at 6pm via Zoom. The history of the roadway will be covered from the Newhall Tunnel in 1910 to the HOV ramp at the I-5 / State 14 interchange in 2012. Q&A to follow the presentation. Please register using the link below.

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcrc–rpzIoGdxQYOYkViOpSZQHqw2rEpl1

Featured Website

Jeremy M. Tuggle, born in Redding, is a descendant of 11 pioneer families who settled Shasta County between 1849-1889. Jeremy attended Shasta College and is the author of two published books, Rooted in Shasta County (2003), and A Journey Through Time: Ono and the Bald Hills (2008), as well as various articles on local history. In 2017, Tuggle was awarded a Community Service Award, a prestigious national award for community service in historic preservation, by the Major Pierson B. Reading Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Jeremy is a member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of California, and an Eagle Scout.

Tuggle has been employed at the Shasta Historical Society since November of 2009. In his present role as Education & Community Engagement Manager, Jeremy conducts research for the historical society’s programs and events, contributes to the Society’s social media presence, and ensures the highest quality guest and patron experience at the Society’s programs and community events and is available to community organizations to present programs about Shasta County history.

You can follow Jeremy Tuggle at:

https://exploringshastahistory.blogspot.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWaOOvqGzR_kkhhgPI5cPRA

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

Book of the Month

My name is Mike Herman and I would like to thank Michael Ballard for inviting me to send an article on a book that I have written. 

In 2018, I started the Historic Ukiah-Tahoe Highway Assoc in an attempt to inform more people about the history and importance of this 222 mile Historic Highway running from Ukiah to Lake Tahoe. As part of this process, I wrote the Historic Ukiah-Tahoe Highway Travel Guide. 

During the research of this project, I discovered another “Forgotten Highway”. In Williams, the Ukiah-Tahoe Highway crosses Old US 99W. After I finished the first Travel Guide, I started another one for Historic US 99W. I am sure that most of you know that US 99 splits into an east and west routes between Sacramento and Red Bluff. US 99W went through the small towns on the west side of the Sacramento Valley. US 99W was replaced in I-5 and is no longer a state or federal highway. Nearly every town along the way has an interesting story or a point of interest that people driving down I-5 will never know. 

I provided Michael with an electronic copy of this Travel Guide that any member is welcome to use. If you would like to see the other Books and Travel Guides that we have, visit www.HistoricUSHighways.com

Featured Photo

Three-lane US 99 in Gorman, CA

This section of US 99 in Gorman, California was the last section of the original 1933 Ridge Route Alternate concrete. It was resurfaced in 2010 by Los Angeles County. The concrete was poured on June 8, 1933. It remained a part of US 99 until 1951, when Gorman was bypassed by a new four-lane alignment along what is now the I-5 freeway. Few sections of original three-lane concrete remain these days. Only two exist in Southern California now and both are on US 101 (Carpinteria and Mission Viejo). Always make sure to get your photos while you can. You never know when things might go away or be covered up.

Errata

Starting January 2022, this newsletter will shift to bi-monthly publication. Interim updates and 99 alerts will still be given outside of that schedule.

Photo Request – Region 3

Looking for photo help! A section of original US 99 in Herndon near Fresno in the Central Valley may be close to being removed. The section in question is south of Herndon Ave adjacent to Weber Ave. It is likely concrete and leads to the old railroad grade crossing removed in 1927.

Photos are from 1950 and 2021. We are looking for photos of the section of paving circled. It should be accessible from Golden State Blvd. Be aware the railroad tracks are live and trains may pass through at any time. Photos of that roadway would be nice as well, as it is also going to be removed in the future.

1950 Aerial view. Courtesy – UCSB Aerial Photography
2021 Aerial view. Courtesy – Google Earth
1965 USGS map showing the Herndon area

New Website Feature

We’ve been working on adding more to our site to help spark interest in Historic Highway 99. Our newest addition “Highway 99 Adventures” is getting its start with Southern California as the first region to be covered. If you have a point of interest along the highway you’d like to see added, let us know.

Highway 99 Adventures
Region 4 – Southern California

US 99 In the News

The first of two articles just came out regarding our Calexico project. We were interviewed by two papers, the Calexico Chronicle and the Desert Review. Today, the article for the Desert Review came out in their print and e-edition. It is pretty cool to get some press for our work. It was a small project but still significant for us. We will post the second article once it comes out.

Desert Review – E-Edition of April 13, 2021 – Page A2 (second page)

Historic Highway 99 Association installs new signs, seeks to promote economic development

Calexico Signs Posted!

Today was a great day and a big day for the Historic Highway 99 Association of California. Today we completed our first project, replacing the Historic Route signs at the south end of US 99 in Calexico, California.

We met the sign crew in Calexico at 1st St and Heffernan Ave at 7:45 am on March 24, 2021 to deliver the signs and watch them get placed. It didn’t take long for things to get moving from that point on. As the new signs were a bit larger and the pole was not tall enough, the new signs needed to be drilled. Thankfully, the new hole was in a decent spot and didn’t mess up the flow of the sign.

Ready to post with the new sign finally here.
Taking down the old sign. This took a bit of work as the old bolts were rusted and welded.
Old sign, now removed.
New sign posted with the crew doing the finishing touches.
Finally on its own. Looking really good!

The second sign, at 2nd St and Imperial Ave, was next. This one, while not quite at the end of US 99, was posted that way due to its proximity to the south end of State 111. The sign is quite visible to a lot of travelers and locals heading to Mexicali and the Calexico central business district. As this was in the morning, the sun was not in a favorable direction for photos. We still made it work.

Crew working on removing the old sign. In the process, they also straightened the END and US 99 shield making the whole assembly a lot nicer.
Down goes the old sign.
And up comes the new one! The crew is making sure the sign is upright. The final check was done by us.
Second sign posted!

After the sign crews finished their work, we went to visit Liliana Falomir, Public Works Manager for the City of Calexico. It was very good to meet her in person for the first time and speak a bit more about the project. It was great to have the opportunity to thank her in person for all the work she has done to make this happen. We also delivered a letter relinquishing the sign to the city to make it all official. The City of Calexico will also be sending out a press release in the next few days, so who knows where things might go from there?

At the BEGIN sign later in the day with better sun. Very happy we made this happen.

We want to thank all those that donated to this project and the City of Calexico for helping make this a reality. We could not have done it without all your help and look forward to more projects in the future. This was an amazing day and a new beginning for US 99 and the Historic Highway 99 Association of California.

Official Press Release from the City of Calexico