U.S. Route 395 in California
U.S. Route 395 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Caltrans | ||||
| Length | 556.909 mi[1] (896.258 km) | |||
| Existed | 1930s–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  I-15 near Hesperia | |||
 SR 14 near Ridgecrest US 6 in Bishop US 395 at Nevada state line US 395 at Nevada state line SR 299 in Alturas | ||||
| North end | US 395 at Oregon state line | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | California | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
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In the U.S. state of California, U.S. Route 395 is a 557-mile (896 km) route which traverses from Interstate 15 near the southern city limits of Hesperia, north to the Oregon state line in Modoc County near Goose Lake. The route clips into Nevada, serving the cities Carson City and Reno before returning to California.
Prior to truncation, US 395 served the metropolitan areas of San Diego and San Bernardino. The highway serves as a connection to the Los Angeles area for the communities of the Owens Valley, Mammoth Mountain and Mono Lake. The highway is used as an access for both the highest point in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney, and the lowest point in North America, Death Valley.
This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System[2] and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System[3].
Route description
The route of US 395 in California is split into two segments, as the highway exits and reenters California. The southern segment crosses the Mojave Desert, Owens Valley and Sierra Nevada. The northern segment also follows the Sierra Nevada and crosses the Modoc Plateau.[4]
Mojave Desert
U.S. Route 395 begins in Hesperia at a partial interchange with Interstate 15 as it heads north. The road enters into Adelanto, on the western edge of Victorville. Victorville, founded by the Santa Fe Railroad to take advantage of water along the Mojave River, and for most of its history home to George Air Force Base,[5] was the second fastest growing city in the United States for July 2006 to July 2007.[6] Although US 395 was once rural road, passing to the side of these cities of the Mojave Desert, with the rapid growth these cities are fast encroaching on the highway and changing the character from rural to suburban.
After leaving the Victorville area the scenery changes, as suburban neighborhoods disappear and the highway traverses the Mojave Desert. While crossing the desert, the route clips the northeastern corner of Edwards Air Force Base. Just past the base the road intersects SR 58. This is currently an at-grade intersection; however, SR 58 is gradually being upgraded to a freeway.[4] US 395 exits the Mojave desert by crossing the Rand and El Paso Mountains, which is also where the highway crosses the San Bernardino–Kern county line, near Johannesburg. While traversing these mountains the route is joined by an active line of the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) that loosely follows the route of State Route 14 through the Mojave. Though the railroad is abandoned north of Inyokern, US 395 follows the old railroad grade from this point to Bishop.[4][7]
On the other side of the mountains is Indian Wells Valley, where US 395 passes between the cities of Ridgecrest and Inyokern, and follows the western boundary of the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. The highway proceeds diagonally across the valley, until merging with State Route 14. SR 14 is an old routing of U.S. Route 6 that proceeds north from Los Angeles, following the edge of the forming Sierra Nevada mountains. Where US 395 and SR 14 meet, the mountains crest at an altitude of 8,400 feet (2,600 m). US 395 resumes following the eastern edge of the Sierra as the mountains gradually increase in altitude until reaching their peak at over 14,000 feet (4,300 m) near Lone Pine.[4] Formerly US 6 and US 395 ran concurrent from this junction north to Bishop.
Just after crossing the Inyo County line, the highway enters the unincorporated community of Pearsonville, which namesake Lucy Person bills as the "Hubcap Capital of the World".[8] After passing by three small lakes, Little Lake, North and South Haiwee Reservoirs, the highway enters the Owens Valley.
Owens Valley
US 395 traverses the entire length of the Owens Valley, entering the valley near the former site of the Owens Lake. The valley, named for one of explorer John C. Fremont's guides, was primarily home to Timbisha and Paiutes before european settlement. Formerly a fertile lake and valley, Owens Lake and the southern portion of the valley are now dry. Water from the valley is channeled for use by the City of Los Angeles, via the Los Angeles Aqueduct, in what is commonly called the California Water Wars.[9]
Along the shores of Owens Lake, the highway passes by Cartago and Olancha. Just north of the lake is Lone Pine. Lone Pine is noted as an access for both the highest point in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney, and the lowest point in North America, Death Valley. Both Mount Whitney and the mountains surrounding Death Valley are visible from US 395.[4] The US 395 corridor from Lone Pine north to the Nevada state line is noted for a high concentration of natural hot springs leading to area being known as the "hot springs jackpot".[10]
Past Lone Pine, the highway passes by Manzanar National Historic Site, a concentration camp were Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. The next community is Independence, the county seat of Inyo County and the home to the Eastern California Museum. Just north is the small Fort Independence Indian Reservation and the Tinehama Reservoir. Nearby is where the Los Angeles Aqueduct is tapped from the Owens River; with more vegetation visible north of this point.[11] In this portion of the valley is Big Pine and the Big Pine Indian Reservation. From here to Bishop the highway is overlapped with SR 168.[11]
At the north end of the valley sits Bishop, the largest city in the Owens Valley. Bishop serves as a gateway for the recreation areas of the Sierra Nevada, including Mammoth Mountain. At the north end of Bishop is the former separation with, and current terminus of, U.S. Route 6, a 3,205-mile (5,158 km) route which can take motorists ultimately to Provincetown, Massachusetts on the east coast. This point is also where the route of US 395 and the abandoned railroad grade separate, with the former SP grade following US 6 towards Hawthorne and Tonopah, Nevada.[7]
The scenery changes dramatically past Bishop as the highway reaches the end of the valley and with a single ascent, gains over 3,000 feet (910 m) in elevation. From here to Gardnerville, the highway is routed across spur ranges of the Sierra Nevada mountains.[4]
Sierra Nevada
US 395 scales the Sierra Nevada on via a ridge between the canyons of the Owens River and Rock Creek. Sherwin Summit, at 7,000 feet (2,100 m), is the lowest and the first of five mountain passes crossed by US 395 in the Sierra Nevada. The highway enters Mono County midway up the ascent, called the Sherwin Grade.[4] After cresting this summit, the highway travels along the west shore of Crowley Lake. Crowley Lake is formed by the Owens River, However US 395 does not resume following the river, instead cutting across low hills to serve the ski resort area of Mammoth Lakes and Mammoth Mountain, including paralleling the runway of the Mammoth Yosemite Airport. Just past Mammoth Mountain, the highway crests the second summit, Deadman Summit, at 8,036 feet (2,449 m). This summit separates the Owens River watershed from that of Mono Lake, a salt lake with approximately three times the concentration of salt as the Ocean.[12] Along the descent towards Mono Lake, the highway passes near several smaller lakes, which are served by the June Lake loop (SR 158).
Just before arriving at Mono Lake, US 395 has a brief concurrency with SR 120, the two routes separate just south of Lee Vining. At this junction US 395 is 12 miles (19 km) from Tioga Pass, along route 120, the highest paved route in California, and the eastern boundary of Yosemite National Park.[4]
Visible for miles, the highway finally passes Mono Lake, squeezed between the lake, a row of bed and breakfasts, and the sierra crest. The next geographic feature is Conway Summit. At 8,138 feet (2,480 m) in altitude, this is the highest point along US 395, and the highest point along a U.S. Highway in California. This Summit also separates the Mono Lake watershed from that of the Walker River.[4]
The highway descends Conway Summit via the tributaries of the West Walker River, heading towards Bridgeport and Bridgeport Reservoir. Along the descent the highway passes by Bodie, a ghost town which the state park system has preserved, including items still on the shelves in the abandoned stores.[13]
The fourth summit crossed by US 395 in California is Devil's Gate Pass, elevation 7,519 feet (2,292 m), which separates the west and East Walker Rivers. The winding descent from Devil's Gate follows the Walker River, exiting near the town of Walker, just south of Topaz Lake.
Nevada
Topaz lake is where US 395 leaves California, to serve the Reno and Carson City metropolitan areas. The highway runs for 87 miles (140 km) in Nevada.[14] While in Nevada, the highway crosses an one more pass, Simee Dimeh Summit, before exiting the mountains.[15] The highway returns to follow the receding escarpment of the sierra.[4]
Honey Lake
US 395 returns to California as a freeway, but is soon downgraded to a divided highway, just past the state line. The road follows Long Valley Creek along the edge of the sierra towards Honey Lake. From this point north, the highway follows a rail line originally built by the Nevada-California-Oregon Railway, the line is now owned by the Union Pacific Railroad. [4][7]
The highway enters the state in a corner of Sierra County, entering Lassen County just 3 miles (4.8 km) later. A short segment in Lassen County is a freeway with one exit, SR 70 at the Hallelujah Junction. This exit is numbered 8, even though it resides hundreds of miles from the origin of the highway, instead using the distance from the point of re-entry to California.[16]. Though SR 70 does not directly serve any major cities, the highway is noted as an all-weather crossing of the Sierras. Just less then 5 miles (8.0 km) from Hallelujah Junction is Beckwourth Pass, the lowest pass in the Sierra, used by both SR 70 and the Feather River Route.[17] The highway proceeds towards and around the west side of 73-square-mile (190 km2) Honey Lake while in route to Susanville. Although Susanville is used as a control city, US 395 does not technically enter the city. In a T-intersection with State Route 36 just before Susanville, US 395 makes a sharp turn avoiding the city, making a near complete loop around the Susanville Municipal Airport.[18]
Modoc Plateau
North of Susanville the highway heads bends around Shaffer Mountain and crosses the Modoc Plateau. While in route the highway serves the cities of Ravendale, Termo in Lassen County, as well as Likely in Modoc County. Here US 395 follows the South Fork Pit River until the confluence with the north fork in Alturas. Past the confluence the highway follows the north fork across Modoc County towards Goose Lake. The last junction in California is with SR 299, former U.S. Route 299, near Alturas. SR 299 can be used to travel west all the way to the western side of California at US 101 in Arcata, and east to the Nevada state line. The two highways are briefly concurrent across the XI Ranch Indian Reservation. US 395 travels in a north-northeast direction for some last 100 miles (160 km) in California. US 395 parallels with Goose Lake just before crossing the Oregon state line near New Pine Creek, Oregon. In Oregon and Washington, US 395 continues all the way to the Canadian border near Laurier, Washington.[11]
History
Camino Sierra
The Camino Sierra was a trail from Los Angeles to Lake Tahoe loosely paralleling modern State Route 14, US 395, and State Route 89. The trail was first believed to be used by Jedediah Smith in 1826. The trail was in common use by prospectors coming to the area because of the California gold rush and Comstock Lode. By 1860, the Camino Sierra was an established trail appearing in maps and guides. After these gold rushes died down, the Camino Sierra saw a revival because of the construction of the Los Angeles Acqueduct beginning in 1908, by which time the route also had earned the nickname Bullion Road. Paving started on portions of the route in the 1920's.[19] The route was promoted for its scenic value by the Southern Pacific Railroad, as a side trip from it's rail lines, as far back as 1912.[20] By 1918, the Camino Sierra had been included in the Blue Book, an early road atlas of the United States.[21]
Rail lines
Both the northern and southern segments of the US 395 corridor were used by railroads branching off from the First Transcontinental Railroad in Nevada before the creation of the U.S. Highway System.
On May 20, 1880 the Carson and Colorado Railway was formed, with the intent of extending a rail line from the existing Virginia and Truckee Railroad at Hawthorne, Nevada through the Owens Valley towards the Colorado River. Though the rail line was never finished, it did open up the area to economic development to the valley. The railroad was never completed past Keeler on the shores of Owens Lake,[22] This line was acquired by the Southern Pacific Railroad by 1910 and eventually connected with their main line at Mojave. Most of this line was abandoned in 1959, and has since been removed.[22] However, the path of the railroad is still visible and many bridges and trestles remain.[11]
The corridor around the northern segment was first used by the Nevada-California-Oregon Railway, a line built starting at Reno, Nevada to connect with the Great Northern Railway in Oregon. This line was later acquired by the Western Pacific Railroad and is still active, now owned by the Union Pacific Railroad.[4]
US 395
As first commissioned in 1926, US 395 was a minor spur route of U.S. Route 195 connecting Spokane, Washington with Canada.[23]
US 395 once held its southern terminus in San Diego, where it ended at the street of Pacific Highway (what is now Old US 101). The route that traversed through SR 163, I-15, and I-215 until it reached Temecula was one of the few U.S. highways to survive the 1964 renumbering, only to be decommissioned just a few short years later in 1969.[24] [25]However, it was still signed until around 1970, and realignments of the route took place north of the present day southern terminus in Hesperia. In the present day, the segment of US 395 in San Diego County was decommissioned and is now signed as "Old US 395".[24] Therefore, US 395 was decommissioned in the San Diego and Riverside Counties, as well as a portion in San Bernardino County.[26]
In 1950, the highway in the San Diego area was realigned and widened from two lanes into four.[27] Sections of US 395 have been upgraded to a freeways; for example the Los Peñasquitos Creek Arch Bridge (built in 1949 and carries I-15) was widened and upgraded to a more stable bridge.[27] By 1966, US 395 was upgraded to full freeway status between the southern city limits of Escondido and the small region near the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. It was at the time when I-15 held its southern terminus at the interchange with I-10, and that the segment south of the interchange was only signed as US 395. By 1976, however, a further widening of the freeway into eight lanes took place and by then was signed as I-15.[27]
From Hesperia to Bishop, US 395 was formerly signed as U.S. Route 6, in which US 6's southern terminus was at what is now the south end of Interstate 110 at Gaffey Street in San Pedro.[28] The extension from Greeley, Colorado in 1937 included the segment of US 395 from Hesperia to Bishop. It wasn't until the 1964 state highway renumbering when US 6 was relinquished from Bishop down southward to San Pedro; therefore, from Bishop south to I-15, the route was renamed as US 395 (old US 6).
U.S. Route 395 Business
In California, the route holds one business loop for US 395 - US 395 Bus. near Ridgecrest, the largest city near US 395 with a population of approximately 24,927 in the year 2000.[29] The route was approved by the AASHTO on June 7, 1989.[30] US 395 Bus. follows South China Lake Boulevard and serves downtown Ridgecrest and part of Inyokern.[30]
Major intersections and exit list
- Note: Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured in 1964, based on the alignment as it existed at that time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.
| County | Location | Postmile [1][31][32] |
#[16] | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino SBD R3.98-73.52 |
Hesperia | R3.98 |  I-15 south (Mojave Freeway) – San Bernardino
|
Interchange | |
.svg){kind=small} Joshua Street to I-15 north – Victorville
|
|||||
| Adelanto | 11.18 |  SR 18 (Palmdale Road) – Palmdale
|
|||
| Kramer Junction | 45.95 |  SR 58 (Bakersfield Freeway) – Bakersfield, Barstow, Boron
|
|||
| 72.77 | Trona Road – Trona, Death Valley | ||||
| Kern KER 0.00-R36.82 |
R1.15 | Redrock Randsburg Road – Randsburg | |||
 Garlock Road to SR 14 – Garlock
|
|||||
| R15.00 | Ridgecrest (US 395 Bus. north) | ||||
| R23.48 |    SR 178 (US 395 Bus. south) to SR 14 south – Ridgecrest, Inyokern, Mojave
|
Interchange | |||
| R25.08 | Inyokern (Brown Road) | Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance | |||
| R29.64 | SR 14 south (Aerospace Highway) – Mojave, Los Angeles
|
Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance | |||
| Inyo INY R0.00-R129.46 |
 CR J41 (Nine Mile Canyon Road) – Kennedy Meadows
|
||||
| Olancha | 34.67 |  SR 190 – Death Valley
|
|||
| Lone Pine | 55.83 |  SR 136 to SR 190 – Death Valley
|
|||
| Big Pine | 100.83 |     SR 168 east to US 95 – Westgard Pass, Deep Springs
|
South end of SR 168 overlap | ||
| Bishop | 115.40 |  SR 168 west – Lake Sabrina, South Lake
|
North end of SR 168 overlap | ||
| 116.25 |  US 6 north – Tonopah
|
||||
| Mono MNO R0.00-120.49 |
R13.93 | Crowley Lake, Hilton Creek | Interchange | ||
| R25.75 |  SR 203 – Mammoth Lakes, Devils Postpile
|
Interchange | |||
| Mammoth Lakes Scenic Loop | |||||
| June Lake Junction | 40.34 |   SR 158 north (June Lake Loop)
|
|||
| 45.96 |  SR 120 east – Mono Lake, South Tufa
|
South end of SR 120 overlap | |||
| 46.40 | SR 158 south (June Lake Loop)
|
||||
| Tioga Pass Junction | 50.74 | SR 120 west – Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park
|
North end of SR 120 overlap | ||
| 58.24 |  SR 167 – Hawthorne
|
||||
| 69.85 |  SR 270 – Bodie
|
||||
| Bridgeport | 76.30 |  SR 182 – Bridgeport Lake, Yerington
|
|||
| 93.70 |  SR 108 – Sonora
|
||||
| 116.96 |  SR 89 – Markleeville
|
||||
| See U.S. Route 395 in Nevada | |||||
| Sierra SIE R0.00-R3.12 |
No intersections in Sierra County | ||||
| Lassen LAS R0.00-138.98 |
South end of freeway | ||||
| Hallelujah Junction | 4.62 | 8 |  SR 70 west – Portola, Quincy
|
||
| North end of freeway | |||||
| 29.84 |  CR A26 (Garnier Road) – Herlong, Sierra Army Depot
|
||||
 CR A25 (Herlong Access Road) – Herlong
|
|||||
| 51.87 |   CR A3 north (Standish Buntingville Road) – Alturas, Lakeview
|
||||
| Janesville (Janesville Grade Road) | |||||
| R61.09 |  SR 36 – Susanville
|
||||
| Standish | 70.12 |  CR A3 south (Standish Buntingville Road) – Reno
|
|||
| Litchfield | 72.94 |  CR A27 (Center Road) – High Desert State Prison
|
|||
| Modoc MOD 0.06-61.56 |
22.76 | SR 299 west – Klamath Falls, Redding
|
South end of SR 299 overlap | ||
| 28.29 | SR 299 east – Cedarville, Gerlach
|
North end of SR 299 overlap | |||
| 61.56 | Oregon state line | ||||
References
- ^ a b California Department of Transportation, State Truck Route List (XLS file), accessed February 2008
- ^ "CA Codes (shc:250-257)". State of California.
- ^ "CA Codes (shc:260-284)]". State of California.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l California Road and Recreation Atlas (Map) (3rd ed.). 1:300,000. Benchmark Maps. 2002.
{{cite map}}: Text "page 103-105" ignored (help) - ^ "Victorville - City History". City of Victorville. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
- ^ "A world of Opportunity". City of Victorville Economic Development Department. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
- ^ a b c Map of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad/ Western Pacific and Connections (Map). Cartography by Pool Broths. Chicago. Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. 1914-06-14.
- ^ "Hubcap Capital". Lucy Person. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
- ^ "The Owens Valley Land Grab". University of Southern California. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
- ^ Bischoff, Matt C. (2006). Touring California and Nevada Hot Springs. Globe Pequot. p. 49. ISBN 0762736410.
- ^ a b c d "Google Maps street maps and USGS topographic maps". Acme Mapper. Retrieved 2007-12-15. Cite error: The named reference "maps" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Mono Basin Statistics". Mono Lake Committee. 2007-01-29. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
- ^ "Bodie State Historical Park". California State Parks. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
- ^ "State Maintained Highways, Descriptions, Index & Maps and NHS". Nevada Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
- ^ Google Maps (Map). Cartography by Teleatlas. Google. 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^ a b California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, US-395 Northbound and US-395 Southbound, accessed February 2008
- ^ "Office of Historic Preservation - California State Parks". State of California. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
- ^ Google Maps- Susanville, California (Map). Cartography by Tele Atlas. Google. 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^ Chambers, Lloyd L. "El Camino Sierra". Owens Valley History (Ray Delea).
- ^ "Two Mules and a Motorist". Sunset - The Pacific Monthly. 29. San Francisco, California: Southern Pacific Company: 159–171. 1912.
- ^ The Automobile Blue Book - Standard Road Guide of America. Vol. 8. The Automobile Blue Book Publishing Company. 1918. p. 21.
- ^ a b "Laws Museum - The Story of Laws". Laws Museum. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
- ^ United States System of Highways (Map). U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1926.
{{cite map}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Unknown parameter|accessmonth=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b US Highway 395 - Desert to Mountains
- ^ California Highways: Routes 305 through 440
- ^ California @ WestCoastRoads - U.S. Highway 395
- ^ a b c US 395 Photo Gallery San Diego County
- ^ Virtual Tour of old US 6
- ^ Floodgap Roadgap - US 395, Part 2: Kern County and Ridgecrest/BR 395
- ^ a b California @ WestCoastRoads - U.S. Highway 395 California Cite error: The named reference "westcoastroads" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ California Department of Transportation, Log of Bridges on State Highways, July 2007
- ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006
External links
- Finding Route 395
- The Three Flags Highway: US 395 at Floodgap Roadgap
- U.S. Highway 395: California's 'mother road' from the Los Angeles Times
