Skip to main content

California State Route 221

By
Back in early 2017 I drove the entirety of California State Route 221 which is located mostly in Napa.


CA 221 is a 2.674 mile State Highway signed on Napa-Vallejo Highway originating from a south terminus at CA 12/CA 29 in unincorporated Napa County.  The north terminus of CA 221 is located in the City of Napa at CA 121.



Part 1; history of California State Route 221

CA 221 was the original alignment of CA 12/29 southward out of the City of Napa.  CA 221 was added to the State Highway System as part of Legislative Route Number 8 during the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act according to CAhighways.org.  As originally defined LRN 8 ran eastward from Ignacio (modern Novato) to Cordelia via Napa.  LRN 8 in it's original configuration can be seen on the 1918 State Highway Map. 


In an August 1934 Department of Public Works Guide the Signed State Highways were announced.  The eventual path of CA 221 was added to the route of CA 29 but was co-signed with CA 12. 


CA 12/29 can be seen first appearing the future path of CA 221 on the 1935 Goshua Highway Map of California.


On the 1963 State Highway Map a new planned realignment of LRN 6 appears north of Napa.  


During the 1964 State Highway Renumbering the planned realignment of LRN 6 was assigned a new designation of CA 221.  This change can clear be seen on the 1964 State Highway Map. 


The 1982 State Highway Map shows CA 12/29 moved to a new bypass route of Napa via the Napa River.  The planned route of CA 221 appears to have been abandoned at this point as it is shown shifted to the old alignment of CA 12/29. 


According to CAhighways.org the planned route of CA 221 was likely planned as an freeway or expressway bypass of northern Napa.  CA 221 was officially moved to the former alignment of CA 12/29 legislatively in 1984.  Apparently Caltrans and the legislature wanted to relinquish the old alignment of CA 12/29 but local interests spurred it be kept as a new CA 221. 


Part 2; a drive on California State Route 221

As for my road photos from CA 221, there really wasn't much to see.  Until recently my only photo was from CA 121 east in Napa approaching southbound start of CA 221. 


This November I returned to Napa which allowed me to take a fresh drive on CA 221.  My approach to CA 221 south was from CA 121 east.


CA 221 is signed from all junctions which is somewhat surprising given it is a minor highway.  


CA 221 from CA 121 isn't signed with a control city.


CA 221 southbound doesn't have any reassurance shields and is aligned on Napa-Vallejo Highway.  There aren't really many notable features or locales along CA 221 aside from the CA 12/CA 29 junction at the southern terminus. CA 221 shows 2.675 miles in the Caltrans Post Mile Tool.













Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

By
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...
4 comments
Read more

Massena Center Suspension Bridge

By
The Massena Center Bridge, also known as the Holton D. Robinson Bridge, has had quite the tumultuous history. Situated on the Grasse River just east of Massena, New York in the hamlet of Massena Center, the Massena Center Bridge is a reminder of the efforts the community has made in order to connect over the river. The first and only other known bridge to be built at Massena Center was built in 1832, but that bridge was never long for this world. During the spring of 1833, the Grasse River dammed itself due to an ice dam, flooded and lifted the bridge off its foundation, destroying the bridge in the process.  The floods were frequent in the river during the spring, often backing up the river from Hogansburg and past Massena Center, but not to nearby Massena. After the first bridge disappeared, local residents had to resort to traveling seven miles west to Massena to cross the next closest bridge, and that was no easy task for a horse and buggy. However, it was many decades befo...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

By
"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.  Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents.  Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes.  When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood.  The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71.  The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway.   Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...
Post a Comment
Read more