San Diego area C-blocks

[hoffo]

Hi all,
I'm Scott and this is my first post - please be gentle! 

I'm intrigued by C-blocks.  I live in San Diego and am aware of a few near Lake Hodges along an old alignment of the former Hwy 395.  I recently discovered a couple along the former Hwy 101 (currently Carlsbad Village Drive).

Does anyone have a list of still extant C-blocks in this area?  I understand Joel Windmiller had a website but any trace of it is gone.

Thanks for your time, and look forward to talking with you all soon!

Scott

[silverback1065]

What is a c block?

Nexus 6P

[NE2]

What is a c block?

When you're trying to hook up with someone and someone else runs interference.

[hoffo]

What is a c block?

Nexus 6P

A C-block is a concrete post with the letter "C" stamped into one side.  They were (if memory serves correctly) placed by the California DOT from about 1914-1934 along major roads whenever the road curved or along fixed distances along straight sections of road.  As I understand, they were used as survey markers.

This is a photo of one near Lake Hodges - this one is near the Hodges Dam along Del Dios Highway.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottyhoffo/13480143775

[roadfro]

What is a c block?

When you're trying to hook up with someone and someone else runs interference.

[andy3175]

One I know of in San Diego is at SR 163 and Robinson:
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.7465028,-117.1556984,3a,75y,325.08h,74.51t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sLWr4T8VaMce0vbttTUh62A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

We cover a bunch of C-blocks (also called C-monuments) on AARoads main site. Here's a Google Search to help you get started looking:

https://www.aaroads.com/google_search.php?cx=partner-pub-0319834805847688%3Ayqhwau-n9qi&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=c-block&sa=Search&siteurl=www.aaroads.com%2Fsearch.php&ref=www.aaroads.com%2F&ss=2186j1612404j7&siteurl=www.aaroads.com%2Fsearch.php&ref=www.aaroads.com%2F&ss=2186j1614094j7&siteurl=www.aaroads.com%2Fsearch.php&ref=www.aaroads.com%2F&ss=2185j1612135j7

There used to be a C-block at SR 125 and Merritt Boulevard, but I can't locate it on Google Street View. Perhaps that is still there; perhaps not.

To the east, there used to be several C-blocks around on Old U.S. 80 in San Diego County. You'd need to follow the old alignment through places like Pine Valley, Boulevard, Jacumba, etc., but I can't specify any exact C-block locations. If you head even further east, into Imperial County, there are definitely visible C-blocks along County Route S-80 as you travel between Ocotillo and Plaster City.

Happy hunting!

P.S. Joel doesn't browse this Forum as far as I know, but even a decade later, I still miss his C-block page.

[Occidental Tourist]

This is a C block I spotted on Wednesday at North Ponto Beach in Carlsbad.  It is just off of the southbound lanes of former US 101 (current S21).



Here is the google maps street view of its location.