CA 221

[Max Rockatansky]

I've been scraping the bottom of my California Highway photo stock before I hit the northern part of the State later this month and came across CA 221 from back in 2017.  CA 221 is an interesting route given it was the original alignment of CA 12/29 before they were realigned onto the modern bypass of Napa circa 1981/82.  CA 221 was initially planned to be a northern freeway and/or expressway bypass of Napa which first appeared as a new segment of LRN 6 on the 1963 State Highway Map.  For some reason the bypass route for CA 221 was cancelled and the highway was reassigned to the old route of CA 12/29 which can be first seen on the 1982 State Highway Map.  What's interesting is that CA 221 as planned never existed on anything but paper but somehow the route sprung to life off the realignment of another highway that local interests wanted to keep under State Maintenance.

https://www.gribblenation.org/2019/09/california-state-route-221.html

[sparker]

I've been scraping the bottom of my California Highway photo stock before I hit the northern part of the State later this month and came across CA 221 from back in 2017.  CA 221 is an interesting route given it was the original alignment of CA 12/29 before they were realigned onto the modern bypass of Napa circa 1981/82.  CA 221 was initially planned to be a northern freeway and/or expressway bypass of Napa which first appeared as a new segment of LRN 6 on the 1963 State Highway Map.  For some reason the bypass route for CA 221 was cancelled and the highway was reassigned to the old route of CA 12/29 which can be first seen on the 1982 State Highway Map.  What's interesting is that CA 221 as planned never existed on anything but paper but somehow the route sprung to life off the realignment of another highway that local interests wanted to keep under State Maintenance.

https://www.gribblenation.org/2019/09/california-state-route-221.html

What's interesting is the legal definition of CA 221 specified that it extended between CA 29 and CA 121, even in its original iteration as a E-W bypass north of the city of Napa.  When plans for that were scrapped, the CA 221 designation was applied -- without any changes to the legal definition -- to the southern reaches of Soscol Ave.; this after the CA 29/12 Napa River bridge bypass that removed through traffic on those routes from Imola Avenue and its river drawbridge (although CA 121 continues to utilize it) was built in the '80's.  D4 has long wished to relinquish CA 221, but it traverses part of the City of Napa as well as some unincorporated Napa County territory; neither entity has to date consented to assume maintenance of the facility, so it continues to bear the (barely signed) CA 221 monicker. 

[Max Rockatansky]

Any particular reason the route of 221 was changed without legislative approval?   I noticed that the routing was changed as early as 1982 but it took two more years to reach the legislature for definition change.

[sparker]

Any particular reason the route of 221 was changed without legislative approval?   I noticed that the routing was changed as early as 1982 but it took two more years to reach the legislature for definition change.

Actually, there was no field signage on 221, just a few white paddles, when I lived in Napa in the very early '90's.  Since the original definition was simply a route between 29 and 121 in the vicinity of Napa, both the original unbuilt northern bypass and the current stretch along South Soscol Ave. fit the definition.  The only reason for running the matter by the legislature was to ensure state ownership of the facility after CA 12 and CA 29 were rerouted over the new high-rise Napa River bridge circa 1982 -- necessary for Caltrans to authorize maintenance activities on the highway.  Like most matters of the kind, the shift of alignment was buried within the yearly fiscal authorization and essentially "rubber-stamped" by the legislature.