Skip to main content

Un-constructed California State Route 235

On my frequent travels through Stockton over the years on California State Route 99 and Interstate 5 I have noted the oddity of un-constructed California State Route 235.  CA 235 was meant to connect CA 99 to I-5 via what is now Hammer Lane.


According to CAhighways.org the precursor route to un-built CA 235 was planned as LRN 260 which was adopted in 1959.

CAhighways.org on LRN 260

The planned route of LRN 260 first appears on the 1960 State Highway City Insert and is shown north of Stockton intersecting Lower Sacramento Street and Thorton Street heading west from US 99/US 50/LRN 4 to LRN 238 (future I-5).

1960 State Highway Map City Insert

When LRN 260 was initially designated it wasn't long before Signed County Route J8 had been applied over Hammer Lane west from US 99/US 50 to Thorton Street in 1960.  J8 continued northward onto a terminus in south Sacramento.

CAhighways.org on Signed County Route J8

At the time LRN 260 and CR J8 had been created Hammer Lane only existed west from US 99 to Thorton Street.  By the 1964 State Highway Renumbering LRN 260 had been re-designated as part of the future CA 235.  This change can been seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Map City Insert to the 1964 Edition.

1963 State Highway Map City Insert

1964 State Highway Map City Insert

For reference even the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Joaquin County shows Hammer Lane extending west from US 99/US 50 to Thorton Street.

1935 San Joaquin County Highway Map

According to CAhighways.org before Hammer Lane was extended to I-5 the traversable route of un-built CA 235 was listed as Eight Mile Road.  According to CAhighways.org San Joaquin County dropped interest in CA 235 November of 1993 when Eight Mile Road was adopted as a County Maintained arterial street.  Interestingly the un-built CA 235 shows on the 1990 State Highway Map City Insert still being aligned over Hammer Lane.

1990 State Highway Map City Insert

For reference Hammer Lane appears to have been completed to I-5 was the route is shown extended west to the Interstate on Historicaerials.com by comparing the 1977 topographical map of Stockton to the 1980 edition.

Despite not being actively sought by San Joaquin County the planned route of CA 235 never has been legislatively dropped and appears on the 2005 State Highway Map City Insert.

2005 State Highway Map City Insert

For reference Hammer Lane is accessible from CA 99 Exit 258 and I-5 Exit 478.  The photos below are from CA 99 northbound approaching Hammer Lane. 




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

Ghost Town Tuesday; Mannfield, FL and the stairway to Hell

Back in 2015 I went searching the Lecanto Sand Hills for the original Citrus County Seat known as Mannfield.  Unlike Centrailia in Hernando County and Fivay in Pasco County I did find something worth seeing. Mannfield is located in the Lecanto Sand Hill section of Withlacoochee State Forest somewhat east of the intersection of Citrus County Route 491 and Mansfield Road. Mannfield was named after Austin Mann and founded in Hernando County in 1884 before Citrus County Split away.  In 1887 Citrus County was split from northern Hernando County while Pasco County was spun off to the south.  Mannfield was selected as the new Citrus County seat due to it being near the county geographic center.  Reportedly Mannfield had as many as 250 people when it was the County Seat.  The town included various businesses one might include at the time, even a sawmill which was common for the area.  In 1891 Citrus County voted to move it's seat to Inverness which set the stage for the decline of M

The National Road - Pennsylvania - Great Crossings Bridge and Somerfield

West of Addison, US 40 crosses the Youghiogheny River at what once was the town of Somerfield.  When crossing the current modern two lane bridge, you many not realize that it is actually the third to cross the Yough at this site.  The first - a stone arch bridge - was known as the Great Crossings Bridge.  Built in 1818, this three arch bridge was part of the original National Road.  The name Great Crossings comes from the men who forded the Youghiogheny here - George Washington and George Braddock. (1)  If you cross the bridge at the right time, this historic bridge and what was once the town of Somerfield will appear out from underneath this massive man-made lake. Historical Postcard showing the 'Big Crossings' bridge and Somerfield.  Image submitted by Vince Ferrari. The Great Crossings Bridge was located in the town of Somerfield.  Somerfield, originally named Smythfield until 1827, would develop as a result of the National Road. (1)  Somerfield would go through va