Historic US 395, Escondido-Riverside (detour to Moreno Valley)

[M3100]

In December 2020 I drove the marked segment of Historic US 395 from Escondido to Riverside, with one detour.  Much of this route is rural (though it parallels the Interstate), posted 55 mph, and a bit worn in places. Here are some pics:

1. Heading north out of Escondido on the Centre City Parkway


2. Intersection with California SR 76


3. Near Fallbrook.  Fallbrook is now only on County Roads; maybe an earlier configuration of US 395 went through the town.


4. A more rural section on the east side of I-15


5. Old Town Temecula.


6. A detour in Moreno Valley (to get to the Sunnymead section of California Business SR 60).  On the way I saw this - "Old 215"??


7. Northern segment of Historic US 395 in Riverside.

[Max Rockatansky]

I seem to recall CA 215 was a place holder designation signed on surface segments of former US 395 which were not up to Interstate standard. 

[ClassicHasClass]

It was, and it was signed until around 1994. There was also CA 194 for the old I-15E portion; postmiles for that actually outlived CA 215, remaining until a few years ago.

The Old 215 section in MoVal was a piece of the CA 215 expressway that was bypassed.

[sparker]

^^^^^^^^^^^
Wow!  The historical society actually put a historic 395 sign on Russell Street east of Main!  That hadn't been an active alignment since the (current) CA 91 freeway just south of CA 60/I-215 was originally opened to traffic back in 1958; prior to that 395 used the La Cadena expressway (the freeway was built on top of that road) simply stub-ended at Russell, always a 2-lane street, then turned west to Main Street, where it (along with SSR 18 and, after 1947, US 91) turned south.  Until the sign pictured would have been installed, it's arguably the most unremarked section of those former routes (and currently by no means a major thoroughfare).

Re Fallbrook:  US 395's original route from Escondido to Temecula did in fact go through Fallbrook; it (aka LRN 77) multiplexed on LR 196/SSR 78 west from Escondido to Vista, then north over current signed County A13, with a short multiplex on LRN 195/SSR 76, then north and east through Fallbrook to the present A13/I-15 junction south of Temecula, where it turned north down the hill into that town.  Eventually the route was "straightlined" along the current I-15 alignment.

[cahwyguy]

A13? Are there A routes in San Diego or Orange? I thought they used S. Riverside uses R, but the R routes are a bit away.

[Max Rockatansky]

Fairly certain Sparker was referring to S13 through Fallbrook.  For what its worth I noticed S13 was on the 1966 Division of Highways Map that shows the County Sign Routes.

[M3100]

^^^^^^^^^^^
Wow!  The historical society actually put a historic 395 sign on Russell Street east of Main!  That hadn't been an active alignment since the (current) CA 91 freeway just south of CA 60/I-215 was originally opened to traffic back in 1958. {snip}

Re Fallbrook:  US 395's original route from Escondido to Temecula did in fact go through Fallbrook;{snip} Eventually the route was "straightlined" along the current I-15 alignment.

In Riverside, I had missed that Russell Street segment the first time around; I only knew about it from the Travel Mapping site. 
As for Fallbrook, there is a section of southbound-eastbound S13 that has a Historic US 395 sign also, a mile or two from I-15, but due to heavy traffic I was unable to get a picture of it.

I never knew about a CA 215 Expressway in what is now Moreno Valley.

[sparker]

A13? Are there A routes in San Diego or Orange? I thought they used S. Riverside uses R, but the R routes are a bit away.

My bad -- it's S13.  Brainfreeze!

[ClassicHasClass]

I never knew about a CA 215 Expressway in what is now Moreno Valley.

CA 215 covered the entire southern portion of I-215 (then I-15E) from Murrieta to MoVal. By the early 1990s most of the section south of Perris was freeway, but the Perris-MoVal leg downgraded to expressway and was the last section to convert. The portion of I-215 west of the old expressway was built due to right-of-way issues, as memory serves.

[cahwyguy]

I'm still working on my highway page updates -- now I'm scanning AARoads and hit this. When I went to explore putting Sparker's information on the 395 page (typos fixed):

Re Fallbrook:  US 395's original route from Escondido to Temecula did in fact go through Fallbrook; it (aka LRN 77) multiplexed on LR 196/SSR 78 west from Escondido to Vista, then north over current signed County S13, with a short multiplex on LRN 195/SSR 76, then north and east through Fallbrook to the present S13/I-15 junction south of Temecula, where it turned north down the hill into that town.  Eventually the route was "straightlined" along the current I-15 alignment.

I discovered I had the following:

In Fallbrook, US 395 appears to have followed the current routing of CR S13 through town and made its 90 degree turn at the same place as Mission Ave does today. It then followed CR S13 to a point less than 1/4 mile east of I-15. It rejoined what is now known as "Old Highway 395" in this area. Note that the current route of Mission Ave changed in the not-too-distant past. Today, Mission Avenue heads north into Fallbrook as "South Mission" Ave. Main Street splits from Mission, heading straight north, while South Mission jogs west, then heads north along what was once Hill Ave. After crossing Alvarado it becomes "North Mission." It currently makes a 90° turn to the east and becomes "West Mission" until crossing Main again after which it is "East Mission", and heads east to the I-15. According to online maps like those on Yahoo, this is the path of County S13. However, if you look on Topozone at the 7.5 minute map, this routing does not exist on the 1968 Morro Hill quad. Instead, from both the topo map and historical descriptions from the Fallbrook Historical Society that are online, it appears that US 395 followed Mission north until it became Main Street, it then turned 90° east on what the topo calls Juniper St (now East Mission). It then jogged north, then east as Mission Road, following that east to the current "Old 395" near the I-15.

This came from Steve Varn as some point in the past (in the early days, I was sloppy with sources). I think the two agree, but I'd like a 2nd eye.

[ClassicHasClass]

Although broadly compatible Steve's description is more detailed. S13 splits in Fallbrook; old US 395 follows the old alignment along Main St.

http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/395/old/u7/#img_36

[andy3175]

Although broadly compatible Steve's description is more detailed. S13 splits in Fallbrook; old US 395 follows the old alignment along Main St.

http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/395/old/u7/#img_36

That's right. Entering Fallbrook, S13 and Historic 395 follow Mission Road northbound. At Main Ave in Fallbrook, they split.  S13 continues north on Mission Road, while 395 curves north onto Main Ave. Historic 395 continues along Main Ave past Fallbrook St (S15) and passes through downtown Fallbrook, where 395 reconnects with Mission Road (S13), which is now an east-west road. The two head generally east along Mission Rd back to I-15.

SM-G975U

[sparker]

Although broadly compatible Steve's description is more detailed. S13 splits in Fallbrook; old US 395 follows the old alignment along Main St.

http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/395/old/u7/#img_36

That's right. Entering Fallbrook, S13 and Historic 395 follow Mission Road northbound. At Main Ave in Fallbrook, they split.  S13 continues north on Mission Road, while 395 curves north onto Main Ave. Historic 395 continues along Main Ave past Fallbrook St (S15) and passes through downtown Fallbrook, where 395 reconnects with Mission Road (S13), which is now an east-west road. The two head generally east along Mission Rd back to I-15.

SM-G975U

Not surprising; signed CA county roads within towns tend to stick to the most efficient arteries available presently, while the original CA state highways -- in this case US 395/LRN 77 -- would extend right down the main streets to serve downtown.