Tower Bridge, I-Street Bridge, Jibboom Street Bridge, old highways in Sacramento

[Max Rockatansky]

Spent some time in Old Sacramento this weekend.  That being the case I went out to get some photos of the old highway routes in Old Sacramento towards the Capitol.  I finished my photos of the following three bridges:

-  Tower Bridge/CA 275 (Old US 40/US 99W
-  I-Street Bridge (Old CA 16/CA 24)
-  Jibboom Street Bridge (Old CA 24, CA 99, and CA 70)

Said photos can be found here:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmodn2zd

I'll be working on some alignment blogs regarding; US 40, US 99W, CA 16, and CA 24 starting tomorrow.  I'll probably make this a four part series given there is a lot to cover with all the alignment changes.  I'm to understand that the Jibboom Street Bridge closed at some point this year, that seems to have ended fairly recently.

[Max Rockatansky]

I prepared a series of Sacramento City road maps spanning from 1873 to 2005 showing the surface highway routes related to the Tower Bridge, I-Street Bridge, and Jibboom Street Bridge.  The primary focus of the maps is on the growth and gradual decline of; US 40, US 99W, CA 16, and CA 24 leading up to when their replacement by freeway routes in Sacramento.  The only really vague part of the story was exactly was going regarding CA 275 between 1996 and 2010.  The State Legislature eliminated CA 275 in 1996 but reactivated it solely on the Tower Bridge in 2010 which made it the shortest State Highway at 737 feet.  For what its worth the 2005 State Highway City Insert of Sacramento shows CA 275 still existing in it's original 2 mile configuration.

X1 1873 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X2 1930 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X3 1938 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X4 1940 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X5 1942 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X6 1944 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X7 1948 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X8 1951 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X8A 1955 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X9 1956 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X10 1958 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X11 1960 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X12 1963 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X13 1964 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X14 1965 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X15 1967 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X16 1969 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X17 1970 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X18 1975 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X19 1982 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X20 2005 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[TheStranger]

One little postscript:

Route 84 was legislatively added in the late 60s north of what was then I-80 (now US 50), creating a situation from about 1966-1982 where Sacramento Avenue between Sunset Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard in West Sacramento was legislatively both part of Route 84 and Route 16.  I'm not sure if 84 shields were ever placed on those surface streets (and 84 north of West Sacramento's Southport neighborhood was decommissioned about a decade ago).

[Max Rockatansky]

One little postscript:

Route 84 was legislatively added in the late 60s north of what was then I-80 (now US 50), creating a situation from about 1966-1982 where Sacramento Avenue between Sunset Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard in West Sacramento was legislatively both part of Route 84 and Route 16.  I'm not sure if 84 shields were ever placed on those surface streets (and 84 north of West Sacramento's Southport neighborhood was decommissioned about a decade ago).

Regarding CA 160 and the one-way split on US 40 down 12th Street/16th Street I'll address that one in the blog post as well.  Suffice to say there is a crap ton of moving pieces when it comes to Sacramento and a lot of them get pretty confusing.  Really the strangest thing for me is why create a gap in CA 16 when it could have been easily bridged on the current freeways like CA 99 is?  Alternatively 16 could have been split into two completely separate highways since it seems to have been the intention from the onset of the 1964 renumbering to put a gap in the route.

[TheStranger]

Really the strangest thing for me is why create a gap in CA 16 when it could have been easily bridged on the current freeways like CA 99 is?  Alternatively 16 could have been split into two completely separate highways since it seems to have been the intention from the onset of the 1964 renumbering to put a gap in the route.

One could easily argue that the situation with Route 99 in Sacramento is exactly the same as Route 16 in Sacramento (where US 50 and I-5 each bridge the two segments).  Big difference of course is that 99 actually is somewhat signed through that whole section - not as well as in the 90s, but still decently enough that it can be followed for the most part! (And the 99 gap isn't quite as long either)

16's eastern segment doesn't even start at US 50 anymore as of recent relinquishments IIRC, I want to say the portion in the city of Sacramento (the area called "Perkins" on old maps but part of the College Greens neighborhood that I lived in a few years back) has all been turned to local control, though I don't think 16 signage has disappeared yet from US 50 at the Howe Avenue exit.

[Max Rockatansky]

Really the strangest thing for me is why create a gap in CA 16 when it could have been easily bridged on the current freeways like CA 99 is?  Alternatively 16 could have been split into two completely separate highways since it seems to have been the intention from the onset of the 1964 renumbering to put a gap in the route.

One could easily argue that the situation with Route 99 in Sacramento is exactly the same as Route 16 in Sacramento (where US 50 and I-5 each bridge the two segments).  Big difference of course is that 99 actually is somewhat signed through that whole section - not as well as in the 90s, but still decently enough that it can be followed for the most part! (And the 99 gap isn't quite as long either)

16's eastern segment doesn't even start at US 50 anymore as of recent relinquishments IIRC, I want to say the portion in the city of Sacramento (the area called "Perkins" on old maps but part of the College Greens neighborhood that I lived in a few years back) has all been turned to local control, though I don't think 16 signage has disappeared yet from US 50 at the Howe Avenue exit.

I'd have to see what Daniel has on his 16 page regarding the relinquishment history.  What I can say having a quick look was that CA 84 signage was intended to remain in West Sacramento as part of the relinquish agreement...but as you already said, who knows if it was even there to begin with?

With that all said, I revised the 1955 and 2005 maps slightly to address the split route in US 40 and all the modern relinquishments:

X20 2005 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

X8A 1955 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[usends]

One question about your description of US 40 on this map: are you sure it used 16th (as opposed to 12th)?

X2 1930 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[Max Rockatansky]

One question about your description of US 40 on this map: are you sure it used 16th (as opposed to 12th)?

X2 1930 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Not 100% but my assumption is based off every map after 1930 US 40/99W was clearly on 16th until the one-Way routing which occurred later with 12th. The problem with those early US Routes is that the city maps don't display a ton of detail for Californian cities until about 1938.  State maintenance wasn't exactly an assurance a US Route was in any particular place as eveidenced by San Francisco before the Golden Gate Bridge was built.  To that end some of the maps have some uncertainty that I plan to address in the upcoming blog series.   

Just out curiosity (I'm on my phone as I write this) where do you have the endpoint of US 50 before it was extended to the Bay Area?

Edit:  Disregard, I just read your US 50 Page. About the only clear resolution I can think of might be sitting in some sort of 1927-1932 Public Works publication. 

[sparker]

^^^^^^^^^
The prewar routing of US 40/99E was straight up 16th Street from US 99's original "split" point at the corner of "L" and 16th.  About 1952 the Division of Highways and the City of Sacramento agreed that couplets were preferable to the relatively narrow 4-lane in-town state highways, and the couplet north of the Capitol grounds was established.  Northbound (NB 99E/EB 40) remained on 16th, converted to 3 lanes of one-way travel, while southbound used the new diagonal 12th Street Extension to just north of the RR tracks, where 12th turned onto its proper grid location and used an expanded underpass below the SP tracks located up on a berm.  The SB state highway continued on 12th St. to F Street, where it turned east (F was one-way eastbound as well) to 15th street, which it followed all the way to the State Capitol grounds at L Street.  By this time, US 50 and SSR 16 had moved a block south to M Street, renamed East Capitol Avenue, and the US 40/99W/SSR 16 combined routing to the west had also moved down to N Street along the south flank of the State Capitol grounds; the "split" point of US 99 was at the corner of N and 16th NB, while the "confluence" point was at N and 15th, one block to the west.  South of N Street and all the way to Broadway the couplet hosted US 50 and US 99 until the Elvas Freeway and the 29th/30th street couplet was commissioned circa 1955 -- at which time Capitol Ave. between 16th and 29th Streets was solely SSR 16; this arrangement remained until the 1964 renumbering.   

[Max Rockatansky]

Sparker, any idea where US 50 might have ended up until it was expanded to the Bay Area?  I suspect it was 16th Street and L Street but it wouldn't surprise me if it went all the way to the Capitol. 

[TheStranger]

^^^^^^^^^
The prewar routing of US 40/99E was straight up 16th Street from US 99's original "split" point at the corner of "L" and 16th.  About 1952 the Division of Highways and the City of Sacramento agreed that couplets were preferable to the relatively narrow 4-lane in-town state highways, and the couplet north of the Capitol grounds was established.  Northbound (NB 99E/EB 40) remained on 16th, converted to 3 lanes of one-way travel, while southbound used the new diagonal 12th Street Extension to just north of the RR tracks, where 12th turned onto its proper grid location and used an expanded underpass below the SP tracks located up on a berm.  The SB state highway continued on 12th St. to F Street, where it turned east (F was one-way eastbound as well) to 15th street, which it followed all the way to the State Capitol grounds at L Street.  By this time, US 50 and SSR 16 had moved a block south to M Street, renamed East Capitol Avenue, and the US 40/99W/SSR 16 combined routing to the west had also moved down to N Street along the south flank of the State Capitol grounds; the "split" point of US 99 was at the corner of N and 16th NB, while the "confluence" point was at N and 15th, one block to the west.  South of N Street and all the way to Broadway the couplet hosted US 50 and US 99 until the Elvas Freeway and the 29th/30th street couplet was commissioned circa 1955 -- at which time Capitol Ave. between 16th and 29th Streets was solely SSR 16; this arrangement remained until the 1964 renumbering.   

Not sure if Capitol Avenue ever had an "East" prefix in Sacramento itself; the only portion I recall that had it is West Capitol Avenue in West Sacramento along what was historically US 40/US 99W until the West Sacramento Freeway was built.  (Essentially, the surface street progression is West Capitol Avenue between the Yolo Causeway and Tower Bridge, then Capitol Mall along the old M Street to 10th Street; then after Capitol Park, Capitol Avenue along another segment of former M Street, with M Street now beginning at 32nd Street in East Sacramento)

---

Also seems like the 1967 and 1969 maps have (state) Route 99 following the 3rd/5th couplet and Broadway along what was pre-1964 Route 24.  Not sure if this was ever signed, though it has been supplanted by the modern freeway routing 99 uses now (I-5, and the WX Freeway segment of US 50/former I-80).

[Max Rockatansky]

^^^^^^^^^
The prewar routing of US 40/99E was straight up 16th Street from US 99's original "split" point at the corner of "L" and 16th.  About 1952 the Division of Highways and the City of Sacramento agreed that couplets were preferable to the relatively narrow 4-lane in-town state highways, and the couplet north of the Capitol grounds was established.  Northbound (NB 99E/EB 40) remained on 16th, converted to 3 lanes of one-way travel, while southbound used the new diagonal 12th Street Extension to just north of the RR tracks, where 12th turned onto its proper grid location and used an expanded underpass below the SP tracks located up on a berm.  The SB state highway continued on 12th St. to F Street, where it turned east (F was one-way eastbound as well) to 15th street, which it followed all the way to the State Capitol grounds at L Street.  By this time, US 50 and SSR 16 had moved a block south to M Street, renamed East Capitol Avenue, and the US 40/99W/SSR 16 combined routing to the west had also moved down to N Street along the south flank of the State Capitol grounds; the "split" point of US 99 was at the corner of N and 16th NB, while the "confluence" point was at N and 15th, one block to the west.  South of N Street and all the way to Broadway the couplet hosted US 50 and US 99 until the Elvas Freeway and the 29th/30th street couplet was commissioned circa 1955 -- at which time Capitol Ave. between 16th and 29th Streets was solely SSR 16; this arrangement remained until the 1964 renumbering.   

Not sure if Capitol Avenue ever had an "East" prefix in Sacramento itself; the only portion I recall that had it is West Capitol Avenue in West Sacramento along what was historically US 40/US 99W until the West Sacramento Freeway was built.  (Essentially, the surface street progression is West Capitol Avenue between the Yolo Causeway and Tower Bridge, then Capitol Mall along the old M Street to 10th Street; then after Capitol Park, Capitol Avenue along another segment of former M Street, with M Street now beginning at 32nd Street in East Sacramento)

---

Also seems like the 1967 and 1969 maps have (state) Route 99 following the 3rd/5th couplet and Broadway along what was pre-1964 Route 24.  Not sure if this was ever signed, though it has been supplanted by the modern freeway routing 99 uses now (I-5, and the WX Freeway segment of US 50/former I-80).

If you look at my Flickr album I took a couple pics of the CA 70/CA 99 guide sign at Capitol and 5th.  My assumption is that the signage is period correct to the 1960s given it was an old button-copy.  Strangely US 99, US 99E, US 99W, and CA 99 apparently all existed in Sacramento just for 1965 according to the state highway map. 

[TheStranger]

^^^^^^^^^
The prewar routing of US 40/99E was straight up 16th Street from US 99's original "split" point at the corner of "L" and 16th.  About 1952 the Division of Highways and the City of Sacramento agreed that couplets were preferable to the relatively narrow 4-lane in-town state highways, and the couplet north of the Capitol grounds was established.  Northbound (NB 99E/EB 40) remained on 16th, converted to 3 lanes of one-way travel, while southbound used the new diagonal 12th Street Extension to just north of the RR tracks, where 12th turned onto its proper grid location and used an expanded underpass below the SP tracks located up on a berm.  The SB state highway continued on 12th St. to F Street, where it turned east (F was one-way eastbound as well) to 15th street, which it followed all the way to the State Capitol grounds at L Street.  By this time, US 50 and SSR 16 had moved a block south to M Street, renamed East Capitol Avenue, and the US 40/99W/SSR 16 combined routing to the west had also moved down to N Street along the south flank of the State Capitol grounds; the "split" point of US 99 was at the corner of N and 16th NB, while the "confluence" point was at N and 15th, one block to the west.  South of N Street and all the way to Broadway the couplet hosted US 50 and US 99 until the Elvas Freeway and the 29th/30th street couplet was commissioned circa 1955 -- at which time Capitol Ave. between 16th and 29th Streets was solely SSR 16; this arrangement remained until the 1964 renumbering.   

Not sure if Capitol Avenue ever had an "East" prefix in Sacramento itself; the only portion I recall that had it is West Capitol Avenue in West Sacramento along what was historically US 40/US 99W until the West Sacramento Freeway was built.  (Essentially, the surface street progression is West Capitol Avenue between the Yolo Causeway and Tower Bridge, then Capitol Mall along the old M Street to 10th Street; then after Capitol Park, Capitol Avenue along another segment of former M Street, with M Street now beginning at 32nd Street in East Sacramento)

---

Also seems like the 1967 and 1969 maps have (state) Route 99 following the 3rd/5th couplet and Broadway along what was pre-1964 Route 24.  Not sure if this was ever signed, though it has been supplanted by the modern freeway routing 99 uses now (I-5, and the WX Freeway segment of US 50/former I-80).

If you look at my Flickr album I took a couple pics of the CA 70/CA 99 guide sign at Capitol and 5th.  My assumption is that the signage is period correct to the 1960s given it was an old button-copy.  Strangely US 99, US 99E, US 99W, and CA 99 apparently all existed in Sacramento just for 1965 according to the state highway map.

When i lived in Sacramento i remember driving by that sign numerous times! I always recall the blank space on it that likely had a Route 16 shield - surprised that that was never filled in with an I-5 shield later.

SAMSUNG-SM-G930A

[Max Rockatansky]

^^^^^^^^^
The prewar routing of US 40/99E was straight up 16th Street from US 99's original "split" point at the corner of "L" and 16th.  About 1952 the Division of Highways and the City of Sacramento agreed that couplets were preferable to the relatively narrow 4-lane in-town state highways, and the couplet north of the Capitol grounds was established.  Northbound (NB 99E/EB 40) remained on 16th, converted to 3 lanes of one-way travel, while southbound used the new diagonal 12th Street Extension to just north of the RR tracks, where 12th turned onto its proper grid location and used an expanded underpass below the SP tracks located up on a berm.  The SB state highway continued on 12th St. to F Street, where it turned east (F was one-way eastbound as well) to 15th street, which it followed all the way to the State Capitol grounds at L Street.  By this time, US 50 and SSR 16 had moved a block south to M Street, renamed East Capitol Avenue, and the US 40/99W/SSR 16 combined routing to the west had also moved down to N Street along the south flank of the State Capitol grounds; the "split" point of US 99 was at the corner of N and 16th NB, while the "confluence" point was at N and 15th, one block to the west.  South of N Street and all the way to Broadway the couplet hosted US 50 and US 99 until the Elvas Freeway and the 29th/30th street couplet was commissioned circa 1955 -- at which time Capitol Ave. between 16th and 29th Streets was solely SSR 16; this arrangement remained until the 1964 renumbering.   

Not sure if Capitol Avenue ever had an "East" prefix in Sacramento itself; the only portion I recall that had it is West Capitol Avenue in West Sacramento along what was historically US 40/US 99W until the West Sacramento Freeway was built.  (Essentially, the surface street progression is West Capitol Avenue between the Yolo Causeway and Tower Bridge, then Capitol Mall along the old M Street to 10th Street; then after Capitol Park, Capitol Avenue along another segment of former M Street, with M Street now beginning at 32nd Street in East Sacramento)

---

Also seems like the 1967 and 1969 maps have (state) Route 99 following the 3rd/5th couplet and Broadway along what was pre-1964 Route 24.  Not sure if this was ever signed, though it has been supplanted by the modern freeway routing 99 uses now (I-5, and the WX Freeway segment of US 50/former I-80).

If you look at my Flickr album I took a couple pics of the CA 70/CA 99 guide sign at Capitol and 5th.  My assumption is that the signage is period correct to the 1960s given it was an old button-copy.  Strangely US 99, US 99E, US 99W, and CA 99 apparently all existed in Sacramento just for 1965 according to the state highway map.

When i lived in Sacramento i remember driving by that sign numerous times! I always recall the blank space on it that likely had a Route 16 shield - surprised that that was never filled in with an I-5 shield later.

SAMSUNG-SM-G930A

The really weird part is that there is an I-5 shield mounted as a stand alone right next to it.  We have a similar situation in Fresno where a couple old BGSs from the Jensen Avenue alignment of CA 41 were never removed when the bypass route was built.  I suppose that north on 5th would take you towards CA 70, 99, and I-5...so why remove it maybe was the thought?

[TheStranger]

Another interesting thought came to mind too:

I-5 and the portion of US 50 east of 99 are the only freeways in metro Sacramento to retain the same designations they have had since being built! (I'm not sure 70 was ever signed on 5 south of the airport)

The portion of today's Business 80 between US 50 and N Street has been four different routes (50/99E, 80, and Business 80/unsigned 51) as one example of the fluidity of route designations in the 1960s.

SAMSUNG-SM-G930A

[sparker]

^^^^^^^^
A few points:  "East" Capitol Ave. was simply a local reference to differentiate it from West Capitol, which terminated at 10th Street and went west to the Tower Bridge.  Once the western section was renamed Capitol Mall back in the late'60's, the references to "East Capitol" just seemed to go away.  And the assumption that CA 70 never made it on to the I-5 freeway was correct; the only reference was from BGS along I-5 at the CA 99 interchange east of the airport, and even that was gone by about 1993 or so, when CA 70 signage was retracted back to the 70/99 split near East Nicolaus.  References to CA 70, though, remained on surface-street signs along or near the original I/Jibboom alignment until about the turn of the century (the city of Sacramento just didn't get around to removing or changing the signs along the long-relinquished street section).

[TheStranger]

^^^^^^^^
A few points:  "East" Capitol Ave. was simply a local reference to differentiate it from West Capitol, which terminated at 10th Street and went west to the Tower Bridge.  Once the western section was renamed Capitol Mall back in the late'60's, the references to "East Capitol" just seemed to go away.

Was the section of today's Capitol Mall ever officially West Capitol Avenue (just like the US 40/99W segment in West Sacramento)?

It's interesting that some of the pavement in Natomas for the old Garden Highway/El Centro Road split that 1958-1964 Route 24 and 1965-1970 Route 70 & 99 used is still there (near Shorebird Park), even though the portion of El Centro Road south of I-80 was mostly demolished in the 1990s:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6054285,-121.5337781,3a,75y,273.9h,98.95t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sh1i5vZ0V-sjbyxqhGNX6Hg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

On that same former 24/70/99 alignment, the bridge taking Jibboom across the American River still exists, but not the second bridge across Steelhead Creek to Garden Highway:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Jibboom+Street+Bridge/@38.5996284,-121.5068193,286m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x809ad6c264c42ff5:0x19481eccfac5cc1b!8m2!3d38.599627!4d-121.5060667

[bing101]

I remember in old maps that Bryte and Broderick were once cities before they were annexed in 1987 to be part of the City of West Sacramento.  I also remember in some maps that North Sacramento was once a separate city before the city of Sacramento annexed that district in the 1960's.

[Max Rockatansky]

Speaking of the Jibboom Street Bridge I was glad to see it reopened.  I always thought the Jibboom Street Bridge was particularly catching to the eye with the green paint:

IMG_3801 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

This is the BGS showing CA 70/99 along with an I-5 shield at Capitol and 5th Street that I mentioned before:

IMG_3909 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[sparker]

^^^^^^^^^
As far as any actual directional prefixes for Capitol Ave. were concerned, within Sacramento City the whole redesignation of M Street was simply "Capitol Ave" on either side of the state capitol grounds; like the East, West was just a localized way to differentiate the discontinuous street for location purposes.  The only official "West Capitol" was in West Sacramento across the Tower Bridge.  Except for the D.C. "original", of course a park or reserve rather than a street, the term "mall" to identify a wide/divided street with multiple public facilities really didn't come into common usage or deployment until the '60's.  By that time, the original I-80 freeway to the south (now US 50) was under construction, so it was a pretty common understanding that through traffic wouldn't be utilizing any part of the mall (the interim P-Q street alignment of US 40/CA 16 sufficed in that respect until the freeway was opened) within the near future.   

[Max Rockatansky]

Took about a week to finished but I finally completed my blog about the old surface highways in Sacramento.  Specifically I touched on the following highways in some capacity; US 40, US 99, US 99W, US 99E, US 50, CA 16, CA 24, CA 160, CA 70, CA 99, CA 84, and CA 275 over the course of 20 historic highway maps of Sacramento.  I also included some materials about; Old Sacramento, the Sacramento Railyards, the Central Pacific Railroad, and the Delta King steam ship.  Of course the historic bridge structures are included as well with the; Jibboom Street Bridge, I Street Bridge, and Tower Bridge.

https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2018/12/highways-in-and-around-old-sacramento.html