Skip to main content

California State Route 147

Back in 2014 I drove a small portion of California State Route 147 along the eastern shore of Lake Almanor.


CA 147 is a 12 mile north/south State Highway which begins near Canyon Dam at CA 89 in Plumas County and ends at CA 36 in Westwood of Lassen County.  CA 147 was originally adopted into the State Highway System in 1961 as Legislative Route Number 183.

CAhighways.org on LRN 183

LRN 183 was adopted onto pre-existing roadways which can be seen by comparing the 1961 State Highway Map to the 1962 Edition.

1961 State Highway Map

1962 State Highway Map 

The roadways now comprising CA 147 are presently part of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway.  The roadways comprising CA 147 are shown on California Division of Highways Maps of Plumas County and Lassen County as major County Highways.

1935 Plumas County Highway Map

1935 Lassen County Highway Map

During the 1964 State Highway Renumbering LRN 183 was reassigned CA 147.  This change can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Map to the 1964 Edition.

1963 State Highway Map

1964 State Highway Map

CA 147 since 1964 has essentially had no significant changes.

CAhighways.org on CA 147

CA 147 begins at Post Mile PLU 0.000 at CA 89 near Canyon Dam.   Canyon Dam is an earthen design that was first completed by 1914.  Upon the completion of Canyon Dam the waters of Lake Almanor began be filled by the impounded North Fork Feather River, Benner Creek, Hamilton Creek and Hamilton Branch.  Canyon Dam is part of the Upper North Fork Feather River Project which was conceived by the Great Western Powerhouse Company in the early 1900s.  Canyon Dam was expanded by 1927 before the entirety of the Great Western Powerhouse Company was acquired by Pacific Gas & Electricity by 1930.  Canyon Dam was expanded to it's present 130 foot height by 1962 and the present Lake Almanor has a maximum capacity of approximately 1,308,000 acre feet of water.  Much of Canyon Dam and it's spillway are within walking distance of the south terminus of CA 147.




At Post Mile PLU 4.585 CA 147 passes through the community of East Shore.  At Post Mile PLU 7.369 CA 147 has a junction with Signed County Route A13 in Hamilton Branch.  At approximately PLU 9.990 CA 147 enters Lassen County.   At Post Mile LAS 1.15 CA 147 enters Westwood and meets Signed County Route A21 at 3rd Street.  Westwood dates back to 1913 when it was founded as a company town for the Red River Lumber County.  At approximately Post Mile LAS 1.786 CA 147 has a north terminus at CA 89.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l

Mines Road

Mines Road is an approximately twenty-eight-mile highway located in the rural parts of the Diablo Range east of the San Francisco Bay Area.  Mines Road begins in San Antonio Valley in Santa Clara County and terminates at Tesla Road near Livermore of Alameda County.  The highway essentially is a modern overlay of the 1840s Mexican haul trail up Arroyo Mocho known as La Vereda del Monte.  The modern corridor of Mines Road took shape in the early twentieth century following development of San Antonio Valley amid a magnesite mining boom.  Part 1; the history of Mines Road Modern Mines Road partially overlays the historic corridor used by La Vereda del Monte (Mountain Trail).  La Vereda del Monte was part of a remote overland route through the Diablo Range primarily used to drive cattle from Alta California to Sonora.  The trail was most heavily used during the latter days of Alta California during the 1840s. La Vereda del Monte originated at Point of Timber between modern day Byron and Bre

Interstate 210 the Foothill Freeway

The combined Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor of the Foothill Freeway is approximately 85.31-miles.  The Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor begins at Interstate 5 at the northern outskirts of Los Angeles and travels east to Interstate 10 in Redlands of San Bernardino County.  Interstate 210 is presently signed on the 44.9-mile segment of the Foothill Freeway between Interstate 5 and California State Route 57.  California State Route 210 makes up the remaining 40.41 miles of the Foothill Freeway east to Interstate 10.  Interstate 210 is still classified by the Federal Highway Administration as existing on what is now signed as California State Route 57 from San Dimas south to Interstate 10.  The focus of this blog will mostly be on the history of Interstate 210 segment of the Foothill Freeway.   Part 1; the history of Interstate 210 and California State Route 210 Interstate 210 (I-210) was approved as a chargeable Interstate during September of