Why Was Riverside Freeway Renumbered?

[dbz77]

I read an old brochure of Disneyland, advertising its opening day. In the sections giving directions to Disneyland, it advised people from Riverside to take the 18 west to Anaheim and make a left on Harbor.

It is clear the Riverside Freeway was known as the 18 at the time. when, and why, was it renumbered to 91? It seems a bit random.

[sparker]

I read an old brochure of Disneyland, advertising its opening day. In the sections giving directions to Disneyland, it advised people from Riverside to take the 18 west to Anaheim and make a left on Harbor.

It is clear the Riverside Freeway was known as the 18 at the time. when, and why, was it renumbered to 91? It seems a bit random.

Since Disneyland was opened in the summer of 1955, US 91 had already been extended over SSR 18 through the Santa Ana Canyon and on to Lincoln Ave (LRN 178) and ultimately Long Beach by that time.  But the SSR 18 number through the canyon had the longest tenure on that route (an expressway at the time); it's likely Disney PR flacks had that sticking in their minds when they came up with the brochure.   The LRN 178/Lincoln section was the portion passing E-W about a mile north of Disneyland itself.

SSR 18 was cut back to San Bernardino back in 1961; the '64 renumbering maintained that status.  A new number had to be found for old US 91 through the Canyon; since "91" was available and being used for that route, the designation was given to a new state highway encompassing former SSR 14 from Hermosa Beach to Fullerton and former US 91 from there east to Riverside.  The portion of former US 91 along Lincoln Ave. in Anaheim (former LRN 178) was renumbered as CA 214, which was relinquished as unnecessary/duplicative after 1971, when the CA 91 freeway was completed west as far as (then) CA 7 in the north side of Long Beach.  IIRC, CA 214 was never signed in the field with either reassurance or trailblazer shields but did receive postmile and bridge indicators. 

[dbz77]

I read an old brochure of Disneyland, advertising its opening day. In the sections giving directions to Disneyland, it advised people from Riverside to take the 18 west to Anaheim and make a left on Harbor.

It is clear the Riverside Freeway was known as the 18 at the time. when, and why, was it renumbered to 91? It seems a bit random.

Since Disneyland was opened in the summer of 1955, US 91 had already been extended over SSR 18 through the Santa Ana Canyon and on to Lincoln Ave (LRN 178) and ultimately Long Beach by that time.  But the SSR 18 number through the canyon had the longest tenure on that route (an expressway at the time); it's likely Disney PR flacks had that sticking in their minds when they came up with the brochure.   The LRN 178/Lincoln section was the portion passing E-W about a mile north of Disneyland itself.

SSR 18 was cut back to San Bernardino back in 1961; the '64 renumbering maintained that status.  A new number had to be found for old US 91 through the Canyon; since "91" was available and being used for that route, the designation was given to a new state highway encompassing former SSR 14 from Hermosa Beach to Fullerton and former US 91 from there east to Riverside.  The portion of former US 91 along Lincoln Ave. in Anaheim (former LRN 178) was renumbered as CA 214, which was relinquished as unnecessary/duplicative after 1971, when the CA 91 freeway was completed west as far as (then) CA 7 in the north side of Long Beach.  IIRC, CA 214 was never signed in the field with either reassurance or trailblazer shields but did receive postmile and bridge indicators.

This is interesting.

This does beg the question of why US 91 was extended to Long Beach.

[roadman65]

Dale Sanderson on his US Ends site has the answer.
www.usends.com

[The High Plains Traveler]

I read an old brochure of Disneyland, advertising its opening day. In the sections giving directions to Disneyland, it advised people from Riverside to take the 18 west to Anaheim and make a left on Harbor.

It is clear the Riverside Freeway was known as the 18 at the time. when, and why, was it renumbered to 91? It seems a bit random.

Since Disneyland was opened in the summer of 1955, US 91 had already been extended over SSR 18 through the Santa Ana Canyon and on to Lincoln Ave (LRN 178) and ultimately Long Beach by that time.  But the SSR 18 number through the canyon had the longest tenure on that route (an expressway at the time); it's likely Disney PR flacks had that sticking in their minds when they came up with the brochure.   The LRN 178/Lincoln section was the portion passing E-W about a mile north of Disneyland itself.

SSR 18 was cut back to San Bernardino back in 1961; the '64 renumbering maintained that status.  A new number had to be found for old US 91 through the Canyon; since "91" was available and being used for that route, the designation was given to a new state highway encompassing former SSR 14 from Hermosa Beach to Fullerton and former US 91 from there east to Riverside.  The portion of former US 91 along Lincoln Ave. in Anaheim (former LRN 178) was renumbered as CA 214, which was relinquished as unnecessary/duplicative after 1971, when the CA 91 freeway was completed west as far as (then) CA 7 in the north side of Long Beach.  IIRC, CA 214 was never signed in the field with either reassurance or trailblazer shields but did receive postmile and bridge indicators.

This is interesting.

This does beg the question of why US 91 was extended to Long Beach.

U.S. 91 was the last piece of the U.S. highway system to be extended in California, not counting the short-lived U.S. 40 Alternate in the north. Previously, U.S. 95 had been extended into the state in 1939. Presumably, it was extended to have a numbered U.S. route extend all the way through San Bernardino to Long Beach. What was interesting is that it terminated at the same spot as U.S. 6, but running in opposite directions. So, with your compass showing that you were driving westbound on PCH (NB U.S. 101A), you were southbound on U.S. 91 until reaching Atlantic Avenue, and later the Long Beach Freeway (CA-15). Passing that point, you were on what was marked as eastbound, or more accurately for its California mileage, northbound U.S. 6.

CA-18 terminated at Lakewood Blvd. (CA-19) until U.S. 91 was extended along it. Then, it was extended along with U.S. 91 to its termination point. For the life of me, I can't figure out why the duplexed route 91-18 persisted for about 15 years.

[TheStranger]

Interestingly, when the 1934 route numberings were first enacted, the part of Route 18 that fit the grid most is the part that became the Riverside Freeway corridor (with the 1934-1964 Route 14, now part of post-1964 Route 91, also fitting in the grid, and the 1934-present Route 22 in Garden Grove to the south). 

I suspect 91 was chosen to be the final number due to 18 being retained solely in the Palmdale-Victorville-Apple Valley-Big Bear corridor; while even that part of 18 has its convoluted shape, it is a singular corridor very much apart from the Orange County part of former 18/current 91.

[sparker]

Interestingly, when the 1934 route numberings were first enacted, the part of Route 18 that fit the grid most is the part that became the Riverside Freeway corridor (with the 1934-1964 Route 14, now part of post-1964 Route 91, also fitting in the grid, and the 1934-present Route 22 in Garden Grove to the south). 

I suspect 91 was chosen to be the final number due to 18 being retained solely in the Palmdale-Victorville-Apple Valley-Big Bear corridor; while even that part of 18 has its convoluted shape, it is a singular corridor very much apart from the Orange County part of former 18/current 91.

SSR18, at least east of Orange, followed LRN 43, which went from Newport Beach to the Lake Arrowhead/Big Bear area, then back down into the desert, terminating at Victorville.  One could arguably say that LRN 43 ran from one recreational destination (the beach) to another (winter sports); continuing the every-4-but-not-divisible-by-4 pattern south of L.A. east to the mountain resorts was almost certainly due to the unique topology of the area and the presence of the like-named county seats of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.  SSR 18 essentially functioned as a "connect-the-dots" between various destinations, picking up and dropping off traffic as required.  Now -- why it took until 1961 to truncate it back to San Bernardino despite the full multiplex with US 91 after WWII is a mystery; one might have to locate any surviving  folks who worked at D7 during that time to ascertain an answer to this. 

[cahwyguy]

I'm up to the phase of the highway updates where I'm going through AAroads, and this discussion has some potential issues, and doesn't answer the real question.

First:

SSR 18 was cut back to San Bernardino back in 1961; the '64 renumbering maintained that status.  A new number had to be found for old US 91 through the Canyon; since "91" was available and being used for that route, the designation was given to a new state highway encompassing former SSR 14 from Hermosa Beach to Fullerton and former US 91 from there east to Riverside.  The portion of former US 91 along Lincoln Ave. in Anaheim (former LRN 178) was renumbered as CA 214, which was relinquished as unnecessary/duplicative after 1971, when the CA 91 freeway was completed west as far as (then) CA 7 in the north side of Long Beach.  IIRC, CA 214 was never signed in the field with either reassurance or trailblazer shields but did receive postmile and bridge indicators. 

With respect to "was relinquished as unnecessary/duplicative after 1971, when the CA 91 freeway was completed west as far as (then) CA 7 in the north side of Long Beach.". Nope. Relinquishment was made automatic in 1965: In 1965, Chapter 1372 added the condition that "this route shall cease to be a state highway when Route 91 freeway is completed from Route 19 to Route 5 and the commission relinquishes that portion of present Route 91 from Route 19 to Route 5."

Now for the larger question: Go back in time to 1933. Why were LRN 175 (which became SSR 14) and LRN 178 (which became SSR 18) both added in the 1933 additions? US 91 wasn't on the RADAR -- US 91 was extended from Barstow to Long Beach in 19-friggin-47. So why have both routes? Something was being served, but what? It could have easily been one LRN.

And, one more question from investigating this further: What was LRN 181 supposed to be? (Look at the 1940 state highway map: Up Grand / Glassell from SSR 55 up to Yorba Linda, and then over, at least to SSR 42 (later Route 90), and possibly even back to LRN 43 Route 18/Route 91?

And, one more question, as no one has commented yet: After 1953, it is clear that US 91 was signed along SSR 14 between Olive (near the current Route 91/Route 55 Jct) and US 101, and then down US 101 to SSR 18, and then across Lincoln to Lakewood Blvd. But what about Route 18? It doesn't disappear along Santa Ana Canyon until 1962. So after the deletion of LRN 178 E of US 101 to Route 55, was SSR 18 signed (and if it was, was it along Lincoln even though it was no longer in the state system, or along SSR 14 and US 101 with US 91), or was there a discontinuity. SSR 18 remained signed along Lincoln, at least according to the maps at least until 1962? [My guess? When US 91 was routed along SSR 14 in 1953, the Route 18 signage was left to disappear, and US 91 took over... but the maps didn't catch up until 1962. Why redraw something by hand unless you have to?]

Daniel
[You can expect the next round of updates to my pages to be posted at the end of November]