US 70 in California

[bugo]

What was the reason for US 70 to be extended into California? Were there plans to give it its own alignment in Los Angeles? Or did they just want a transcontinental route?


EDIT: Change message icon. --Roadfro

[Henry]

I'm not as familiar with the earlier US 70 plans, but if I were to guess, it would be because they wanted a transcontinental route, although that purpose was already served by US 60, which is today's CA 60. And I think that route would've been unnecessary for the same reason, as there would've been nowhere else to put it. US 80 was going to San Diego, so Los Angeles would've been better served by a standalone US 60. Of course, what is now CA 70 was once US 40 Alt, but that's for another topic. Here's a link that would be more helpful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_70#History

[KG909]

Probably just so it could end at the coast. It's old freeway alignment is just 2 blocks away from me.

[NE2]

It did give an east-west number to the San Bernardino Freeway, which was US 99.

[TheStranger]

It did give an east-west number to the San Bernardino Freeway, which was US 99.

Having said that, wasn't a majority of the Ramona Boulevard/Parkway (now San Bernardino Freeway) route west of Ontario already US 60 too?

[Bickendan]

Seems like US 60 took Ramona Parkway to Valley Blvd then switched over there, though it's sometimes hard to tell from the older large scale maps.

[The High Plains Traveler]

I think the Garvey Avenue route for 60-70-99 was completed (mid-30s) by the time U.S. 70 was extended. U.S. 70 actually was marked as a solo route for a year or two, on the very short segment of the San Bernardino Freeway west of the Golden State. The markings for U.S. 60 were removed from guide signage along the San Bernardino west of Pomona, and the reassurance markers were separated from the I-10/U.S. 70/U.S. 99 route markers, evidently in preparation for ultimately moving the U.S. 60 designation to the Pomona Freeway. WB on the San Bernardino at the Golden State, there was a U.S. 70/Los Angeles pull-through sign.

Long answer, but ultimately the conclusion is that U.S. 70 was always superfluous in California.

[sdmichael]

US 60 was not planned to follow the Pomona Freeway. It was to be constructed after US 60 was truncated to Arizona. The signs showing US 70 only reflected the earlier truncation of US 60 to Pomona itself at the present-day Kellogg Hill Interchange where State 71/State 57/I-10/(former I-210) meet.

[The High Plains Traveler]

US 60 was not planned to follow the Pomona Freeway. It was to be constructed after US 60 was truncated to Arizona. The signs showing US 70 only reflected the earlier truncation of US 60 to Pomona itself at the present-day Kellogg Hill Interchange where State 71/State 57/I-10/(former I-210) meet.

Except, when the East L.A. interchange opened in the early 60s, there was the corner of a U.S. shield peeking out of the blank overlay on the future signage for the Pomona Freeway. The Pomona was certainly planned way prior to 1964, so if the Pomona wasn't going to be U.S. 60, what was it?

[sdmichael]

For that, I'll have to consult the sign plans for that interchange at District 7 HQ. Now that I'll have Mondays off, I will make a visit in the near future.

[andy3175]

It did give an east-west number to the San Bernardino Freeway, which was US 99.

This seems like the most likely reason for US 70 making it west to LA, along with giving US 70 the prestige of going coast to coast. I would have liked to have seen US 70 rerouted somehow to head to Orange County to give another US route to a population center (perhaps via SR 74), but in those days, the key destination on the West Coast was LA ... and it still is, given how it is signed from places as far away as Flagstaff and Sacramento.

[mrsman]

US 60 was not planned to follow the Pomona Freeway. It was to be constructed after US 60 was truncated to Arizona. The signs showing US 70 only reflected the earlier truncation of US 60 to Pomona itself at the present-day Kellogg Hill Interchange where State 71/State 57/I-10/(former I-210) meet.

Except, when the East L.A. interchange opened in the early 60s, there was the corner of a U.S. shield peeking out of the blank overlay on the future signage for the Pomona Freeway. The Pomona was certainly planned way prior to 1964, so if the Pomona wasn't going to be U.S. 60, what was it?

Yes, see this sign over here:  http://goo.gl/maps/MojTI

Where the 60 highway (not entirely freeway here) splits off from I-10 in Beaumont there is definitely a CA-60 covering an old US-60 sign. 

IMO, US 60 should've reamained the designation for the entire freeway from the East LA interchange and US 60 should have multiplexed with I-10 between Beaumont and Quartsize. 

US 70 is superfluous and it was rightfully removed when the I-10 designation became standard.

[KG909]

US 60 was not planned to follow the Pomona Freeway. It was to be constructed after US 60 was truncated to Arizona. The signs showing US 70 only reflected the earlier truncation of US 60 to Pomona itself at the present-day Kellogg Hill Interchange where State 71/State 57/I-10/(former I-210) meet.

Except, when the East L.A. interchange opened in the early 60s, there was the corner of a U.S. shield peeking out of the blank overlay on the future signage for the Pomona Freeway. The Pomona was certainly planned way prior to 1964, so if the Pomona wasn't going to be U.S. 60, what was it?

Yes, see this sign over here:  http://goo.gl/maps/MojTI

Where the 60 highway (not entirely freeway here) splits off from I-10 in Beaumont there is definitely a CA-60 covering an old US-60 sign. 

IMO, US 60 should've reamained the designation for the entire freeway from the East LA interchange and US 60 should have multiplexed with I-10 between Beaumont and Quartsize. 

US 70 is superfluous and it was rightfully removed when the I-10 designation became standard.

[sdmichael]

Yes, US 60 split from I-10 there. It ALWAYS split there, even from US 70 / US 99. However, I have not seen any plans showing US 60 planned to go anywhere west of Pomona (State 71), certainly not to I-5) along the present-day Pomona Freeway. I plan to visit Caltrans in the next month to check the sign plans for the East Los Angeles Interchange to verify this. Cosigning US 60 with I-10 from its present end in Arizona all the way to Beaumont just to have a shorter freeway get the US 60 designation does seem a bit much though. It would be on its own for a shorter length than it would be signed with I-10.

[mrsman]

SDMichael,

I await your research on this area, as it will provide historic insight.

And as far as cosigning US 60 across the desert, this wasn't a new request, this was in fact maintaining the original status quo. 

And it is clear that they named the new freeway CA-60 as an homage to the old US-60 route.  Yes, US 60 probably never ran on its own route west of CA-71, but once you plan on building a freeway that is about 5 miles south of the San Bernardino Freeway to go from LA to Pomona to Riverside, and the Pomona to Riverside portion is already US 60, wouldn't it be easier to just move the US 60 designation to the LA to Pomona portion and not have US 60 rejoin I-10?

So, I think that it is very likely that US 60 may have been planned for the western Pomona Freeway, but then became CA-60 as a result of the 1964 renumbering.  Whether any section was signed as US 60, is a mystery.

[sdmichael]

I can guarantee already that no portion of the current State 60 freeway west of the 71 was signed as US 60, mostly as it had not yet opened or was constructed by 1964. In all my research, I've found no indication it was to be US 60. Yes, US 60 had not been cut back to Arizona, more than likely US 60 would have gone on the present freeway.

[Desert Man]

US 70 also went by routes 60 and 99 in So CA, esp. from Indio/Coachella to Beaumont/Banning the route had 3 numbers: 60/70/99. From there through San Bernardino, Ontario, Pomona, Covina, El Monte, Alhambra and to downtown L.A., the 70-99. I find interesting 6 US routes crossed the San Bernardino-Riverside area such as Old 66 (Foothill Blvd), the Inland Empire's two largest cities (Riverside has more people than the considered hub San Bernardino). The interstate and CA freeway systems replaced the US routes when the Inland Empire region suburbanized from new residents moving in from L.A. or the OC, and San Diego. Old US 66 itself reminds the locals what the region used to be in most of the 20th century, as well fond memories of US 60, 70, 91, 99 and 395. 

[sdmichael]

So... I went to Caltrans today. I will post more when i get home. So far, no. US 60 was not posted or planned at the East Los Angeles Interchange. What was, however, was State 26. A state highway shield under an overlay would appear similar to a US highway shield. I found a whole lot more as well.

[mrsman]

So... I went to Caltrans today. I will post more when i get home. So far, no. US 60 was not posted or planned at the East Los Angeles Interchange. What was, however, was State 26. A state highway shield under an overlay would appear similar to a US highway shield. I found a whole lot more as well.

Very interesting.  I do know that CA-26 was once On Olympic Blvd.  Could it be that there were plans to continue the Pomona Freeway as the Santa Monica Freeway as one routing (CA-26) and have I-10 terminate at US 101 near Union Station?

[sdmichael]

Plans apparently did call for the Pomona Freeway to be numbered as State 26 originally. It also appears that I-10 was to be cosigned with State 26, how far west I do not know. This is the first time I've seen anything other than 60 or just 10 on those freeways.

[CaliforniaRoadologist]

I've seen some maps showing U.S. 60 signed along Valley Blvd west of Pomona going towards Los Angeles, but they were early maps.

Here is a 1947 photo showing U.S. 60-70-99 approaching easterly towards "five points" on the west outskirts of Pomona. At the traffic light, U.S. 99-70 would continue east and U.S. 60 turned left and head south to Fifth Ave (now Mission Blvd), then turn left onto Fifth and head east out past Ontario and Riverside as U.S. 60 and eventually join back up with U.S. 70-99 in Beaumont.

[JustDrive]

Where would the approximate location be?  The 71/Holt/Valley/Fairplex intersection?

[NE2]

Where would the approximate location be?  The 71/Holt/Valley/Fairplex intersection?

Exactly at Holt/Valley and Fairplex.

[sdmichael]

I've seen some maps showing U.S. 60 signed along Valley Blvd west of Pomona going towards Los Angeles, but they were early maps.

Here is a 1947 photo showing U.S. 60-70-99 approaching easterly towards "five points" on the west outskirts of Pomona. At the traffic light, U.S. 99-70 would continue east and U.S. 60 turned left and head south to Fifth Ave (now Mission Blvd), then turn left onto Fifth and head east out past Ontario and Riverside as U.S. 60 and eventually join back up with U.S. 70-99 in Beaumont.

I have some photos of the intersection (aerials) from 1965 on my site - State Highway 71 - http://socalregion.com/highways/la_highways/sr-71/.

[CaliforniaRoadologist]

Just Drive....as NE2 mentioned, it was taken at the junction of Holt, Valley, Fairplex (then called Belleview Ave at the time) and the U.S. 60 connection from Holt to Mission. I used NE2's aerial to show the approximate spot the photo was taken from and the direction it was facing by using a red dot with an arrow,



Here are some more of that intersection in 1957 looking north from Holt Ave at Five Points."