US 101 on State Street in Santa Barbara

Started by fungus, April 26, 2021, 02:35:39 AM

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fungus

Going through Google Maps and looking at the US 101 alignment I wonder if US 101 was ever routed on State Street in Santa Barbara, and how it rejoined the coastal alignment. I get that a surface "bypass" was apparently constructed in the 1950's, but not sure why they just didn't bridge over the roadways as a skinny bypass like the ones along 99 in the Central Valley, instead of leaving a few traffic signals along the waterfront until 1991.


sparker

Quote from: fungus on April 26, 2021, 02:35:39 AM
Going through Google Maps and looking at the US 101 alignment I wonder if US 101 was ever routed on State Street in Santa Barbara, and how it rejoined the coastal alignment. I get that a surface "bypass" was apparently constructed in the 1950's, but not sure why they just didn't bridge over the roadways as a skinny bypass like the ones along 99 in the Central Valley, instead of leaving a few traffic signals along the waterfront until 1991.

US 101 did utilize State Street as its route westward out of central Santa Barbara.  From west to east it used State SE to Guerrero, turning NE on Guerrero to Milpas, then SE again on Milpas to just south of the present US 101 interchange, where it turned east to merge with the current US 101 freeway alignment, which eventually overlaid the original highway through Montecito.  Westward, it simply segued into Hollister Ave. through Goleta; the LRN 80 junction (later CA 154) was where the street names changed.   The reason for the interim surface divided highway alignment was simple -- to provide a reason for travelers/tourists to head south to the beach or north to the city's "restaurant row" on State Street.  Santa Barbara has always been a tourist destination; until the '80's it was the city's major revenue source.  But once business and industrial development came to the area (the latter mostly out west in Goleta) and tourism ceased to be the overwhelming economic driver, the need to provide a through freeway to serve commute traffic prevailed and the freeway upgrade took place.  But for several decades the "gap" served its purpose -- to provoke a "well....as long as we've gotta stop, we might as well see what the beach here is like" response from US 101 drivers.   

TheStranger

#2
Quote from: sparker on April 26, 2021, 03:52:16 AM
Quote from: fungus on April 26, 2021, 02:35:39 AM
Going through Google Maps and looking at the US 101 alignment I wonder if US 101 was ever routed on State Street in Santa Barbara, and how it rejoined the coastal alignment. I get that a surface "bypass" was apparently constructed in the 1950's, but not sure why they just didn't bridge over the roadways as a skinny bypass like the ones along 99 in the Central Valley, instead of leaving a few traffic signals along the waterfront until 1991.

US 101 did utilize State Street as its route westward out of central Santa Barbara.  From west to east it used State SE to Guerrero, turning NE on Guerrero to Milpas, then SE again on Milpas to just south of the present US 101 interchange, where it turned east to merge with the current US 101 freeway alignment, which eventually overlaid the original highway through Montecito.   

Looking at Google Maps, there isn't a Guerrero Street in Santa Barbara.  Was it actually Gutierrez that connected State and Milpas?

The short run from Milpas to the current US 101 freeway looks to be Aliso Street (which directly feeds into 101), similar to how in San Bruno, part of the old Junipero Serra Boulevard became ramps to I-280, while the southernmost part was added to a local street (Cunningham Way).
Chris Sampang

GaryA

Working from vague memories here, but I believe that the current alignment paralleling (not on) State St was in place quite early (merging into Hollister Ave around the current 154 junction), and was upgraded in-place over the years to the current freeway.  I don't recall the original name of the street, it could have been Rancheria (which still exists to the south of the freeway bend). 

The in-place upgrading would be part of why the signalized intersections were left for so long.

I've seen a map at a friend's house that had this configuration in place much earlier than I had expected (1930ish?), and the 1935 county highway map definitely shows State St as a separate roadway from the highway.

So while State St likely was the original main route northward, whether it was ever signed as US 101 isn't as clear.


GaryA

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on April 26, 2021, 06:31:14 PM
FWIW a lot of the DOH and Caltrans maps on David Rumsey capture Santa Barbra on the City Inserts:

https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239487~5511825:-Verso--State-Highway-Map,-1990-?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans%201990;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=2&trs=84

The 1938 Caltrans map shows US 101 on (entering from the south) NW on Milpas, turn L (SW) on Gutierrez, curve R (NW) on Rancheria, merge (NW) onto Modoc, then merge (W) onto Hollister (near the current 154 junction).

mrsman

I would love to learn more about this, as it is an interesting topic, and I have been to Santa Barbara many times.

Given its trajectory, I always assumed State street was part of 101 from Downtown to the La Cumbre area and then continuing as Hollister in Goleta.

Hollister was certainly the pre-freeway routing of US 101.  But I am surprised to see that only a little bit of what is now State was US 101.

Apparently, the main connection from Downtown to the west was De La Vina, not State.  Here are two maps that show the routing on the west side of town.  De La Vina was the only street to bridge Mission Creek and parts of it were once called Hollister.

These maps do not clearly indicate how one got from De La Vina towards L.A. (perhaps Gutierrez and Milpas)

https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/20703/city-and-suburban-map-of-santa-barbara-california-192-cole

https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~278316~90051707:Map-of-Santa-Barbara

The David Rumsey map confirms the routing GaryA mentioned, as it is bold.  But it also shows De La Vina as being an older routing of 101.

sparker

My bad -- brain freeze on the name of the US 101 connector street (Guerrero rather than the correct Guiterrez).  But thanks for identifying the connecting street, which curved directly east from SB Milpas, as Aliso Street; this ran along the north side of the former SP Coast Line tracks, which sit next to the US 101 alignment all the way south to Carpinteria. 

cahwyguy

#8
Quote from: GaryA on April 26, 2021, 06:55:38 PM
The 1938 Caltrans map shows US 101 on (entering from the south) NW on Milpas, turn L (SW) on Gutierrez, curve R (NW) on Rancheria, merge (NW) onto Modoc, then merge (W) onto Hollister (near the current 154 junction).

As noted, I'm going through articles and saw this. Let's expand this a bit. There is an "Old Coast Highway" running from Hot Springs Road to Salinas Street, where it comes in around Porto Gordo. Looking at the maps in the later posts, it looks like Porto Gordo ran all the way to Milpas and was old US 101 (when the freeway was constructed, it looks like it was cut off, and the portion S of US 101 became Calle Puerto Vallarta). I'm unsure about Aliso St--that may have occurred later after the freeway/expressway was constructed.

What I can't seem to see are dates: When did US 101 move off of De La Vina to Rancheria (we know it was between 1920 and 1938, but the state highway maps don't have Santa Barbara insets until 1938). It also appears, based on the maps, that US 101 was never on State Street. Lastly, I'm curious about the Porto Gordo piece: What is the history of the "Old Coast Highway" between Monticito and Salinas St, and when did an expressway replace Porto Gordo?

(I'll note that I looked at the insets on the state highway maps at 2 year intervals, comparing this to the current map in the postmile tool, to come up with this. My maps page at https://www.cahighways.org/maps.html is a handy entrance point into the Rumsey archives).
Daniel - California Highway Guy ● Highway Site: http://www.cahighways.org/ ●  Blog: http://blog.cahighways.org/ ● Podcast (CA Route by Route): http://caroutebyroute.org/ ● Follow California Highways on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cahighways

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: cahwyguy on May 15, 2021, 03:15:00 PM
Quote from: GaryA on April 26, 2021, 06:55:38 PM
The 1938 Caltrans map shows US 101 on (entering from the south) NW on Milpas, turn L (SW) on Gutierrez, curve R (NW) on Rancheria, merge (NW) onto Modoc, then merge (W) onto Hollister (near the current 154 junction).

As noted, I'm going through articles and saw this. Let's expand this a bit. There is an "Old Coast Highway" running from Hot Springs Road to Salinas Street, where it comes in around Porto Gordo. Looking at the maps in the later posts, it looks like Porto Gordo ran all the way to Milpas and was old US 101 (when the freeway was constructed, it looks like it was cut off, and the portion S of US 101 became Calle Puerto Vallarta). I'm unsure about Aliso St--that may have occurred later after the freeway/expressway was constructed.

What I can't seem to see are dates: When did US 101 move off of De La Vina to Rancheria (we know it was between 1920 and 1938, but the state highway maps don't have Santa Barbara insets until 1938). It also appears, based on the maps, that US 101 was never on State Street. Lastly, I'm curious about the Porto Gordo piece: What is the history of the "Old Coast Highway" between Monticito and Salinas St, and when did an expressway replace Porto Gordo?

(I'll note that I looked at the insets on the state highway maps at 2 year intervals, comparing this to the current map in the postmile tool, to come up with this. My maps page at https://www.cahighways.org/maps.html is a handy entrance point into the Rumsey archives).

Has anyone gone through to check out the 1924-1938 CHPWs?  I know the DOH wouldn't have maintained anything right of way wise within the City Limits of Santa Barbra until at least 1933 but there might be a map of two showing where through road was.

DTComposer

The 1935 Division of Highways map would suggest US-101 was still on De La Vina:

https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~247353~5515387:Santa-Barbara-County-?sort=Date%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:Santa%20Barbara%20county;sort:Date%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=4&trs=11

Also, I don't think Porto Gordo was the connection between Salinas and Milpas. The 1935 map shows a little more of a jog along Salinas coming in from Old Coast Highway, which to me would correspond to Cacique or Carpinteria, and the 1938 inset on the Highway Map shows Cacique (as a local street, but the inclusion of that over neighboring streets would indicate some level of importance). Also, the 1947 aerial photo shows the pavement markings/wear would suggest thru traffic going from Old Coast onto Salinas (rather than continuing onto Porto Gordo), and the slightly rounded sidewalk corner at Caique would suggest thru traffic taking that corner.

cahwyguy

#11
Quote from: DTComposer on May 24, 2021, 07:25:53 PM
Also, I don't think Porto Gordo was the connection between Salinas and Milpas. The 1935 map shows a little more of a jog along Salinas coming in from Old Coast Highway, which to me would correspond to Cacique or Carpinteria, and the 1938 inset on the Highway Map shows Cacique (as a local street, but the inclusion of that over neighboring streets would indicate some level of importance). Also, the 1947 aerial photo shows the pavement markings/wear would suggest thru traffic going from Old Coast onto Salinas (rather than continuing onto Porto Gordo), and the slightly rounded sidewalk corner at Caique would suggest thru traffic taking that corner.

Compare and contrast the following:


Here's a map of this I worked up for my pages:



This is why I conclude that it appears to be on Punto Gordo between Salinas St and Milpas.

Daniel
Daniel - California Highway Guy ● Highway Site: http://www.cahighways.org/ ●  Blog: http://blog.cahighways.org/ ● Podcast (CA Route by Route): http://caroutebyroute.org/ ● Follow California Highways on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cahighways

DTComposer

I wanted to see if I could find any further evidence to support my hypothesis, and now see Daniel's response. I did find this in the July 1934 issue of California Highways and Public Works:



...which shows the "existing route"  as using Cacique. I do know route alignments changed on the regular back then, so it could very well have used Punta Gordo (or another street) at other times.

Max Rockatansky

Might come down to finding some old pre-1933 ACSC strip maps somehow but those are rare.  The ACSC had a lot more free reign to do what they wanted with signage before the DOH could maintain highways in cities.  The variance between what was on the books with the AASHO and field signed by the ACSC could be wildly different (like it was in Los Angeles with US 66).

cahwyguy

#14
Quote from: DTComposer on May 28, 2021, 11:34:09 AM
I wanted to see if I could find any further evidence to support my hypothesis, and now see Daniel's response. I did find this in the July 1934 issue of California Highways and Public Works:...

Great find. As I'm getting ready to update my pages, I'll work this in. With this, I think we'll need to say that the pictorial map is in error in how it shows the coast highway going to Milpas, and that the routing used Cacique and De La Vin until late 1934. Given I'm updating my pages, the image above will be changing from what was originally posted: That 1934 map of Santa Barbara that didn't label streets (i.e., this map) will be replaced with the CHPW image. This will happen when I upload things over the weekend.
Daniel - California Highway Guy ● Highway Site: http://www.cahighways.org/ ●  Blog: http://blog.cahighways.org/ ● Podcast (CA Route by Route): http://caroutebyroute.org/ ● Follow California Highways on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cahighways

DTComposer

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on May 28, 2021, 11:39:18 AM
Might come down to finding some old pre-1933 ACSC strip maps somehow but those are rare.  The ACSC had a lot more free reign to do what they wanted with signage before the DOH could maintain highways in cities.  The variance between what was on the books with the AASHO and field signed by the ACSC could be wildly different (like it was in Los Angeles with US 66).

That reminded me that I have a stash of c. 1920 ACSC strip maps and folding maps boxed away - the folding map of Southern California has this inset which also uses Cacique, but interestingly, uses a Haley/Montecito couplet rather than Gutierrez, and transitions from De La Vina to State on another couplet (Mission and Micheltorena) (as you say, this is ACSC, not DOH/AASHO, so the level of "official" -ness is in question):



The one strip map I have for that region has less detail, and I can't confirm whether is pre- or post-dates the folding map, but it appears to follow the same route, but using just Mission (instead of the couplet with Micheltorena):


Max Rockatansky

Quote from: DTComposer on May 28, 2021, 12:47:14 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on May 28, 2021, 11:39:18 AM
Might come down to finding some old pre-1933 ACSC strip maps somehow but those are rare.  The ACSC had a lot more free reign to do what they wanted with signage before the DOH could maintain highways in cities.  The variance between what was on the books with the AASHO and field signed by the ACSC could be wildly different (like it was in Los Angeles with US 66).

That reminded me that I have a stash of c. 1920 ACSC strip maps and folding maps boxed away - the folding map of Southern California has this inset which also uses Cacique, but interestingly, uses a Haley/Montecito couplet rather than Gutierrez, and transitions from De La Vina to State on another couplet (Mission and Micheltorena) (as you say, this is ACSC, not DOH/AASHO, so the level of "official" -ness is in question):



The one strip map I have for that region has less detail, and I can't confirm whether is pre- or post-dates the folding map, but it appears to follow the same route, but using just Mission (instead of the couplet with Micheltorena):



At minimum I would say it is probably safe to say the through route for LRN 2 and El Camino Real/Pacific Highway was on State.   It's too Santa Barbra doesn't appear in detail on the 1930 edition of the DOH map, usually the earliest US Route alignments tend to be directly inherited from the Auto Trails

Max Rockatansky

I passed through Goleta and Santa Barbara yesterday.  I replicated as much of the alignment of US 101 described in the July 1934 by way of taking State Street and De La Vina Street eastbound.  De La Vina is now largely one-way eastbound and can be followed all the way to Gutierrez Street.  Gutierrez Street is now mostly one-way southbound which prevents using the early 101 corridor as a through route to Milpas. 

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmW9qWRR

Max Rockatansky

Put something together for Old US Route 101 along the entirety of Santa Barbara Channel.  I want to say that I got every conceivable item of interest for Santa Barbara:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/08/former-us-route-101-along-santa-barbara.html



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