Between 1970 and 1979, State Highway 67 was realigned between Archie Moore Rd and Mussey Grade Rd. This realignment left two sections of paving with white striping intact. Most likely, the paving dates to around 1948 when State 67 was realigned around San Vicente Reservoir.
Realigned sometime in the 1930’s, the original alignment of US 99 is still visible near the intersection of Valley Blvd and Pepper Ave. Little remains of the original paving of US 99 through the Los Angeles area, so this is a special section.
Around late 2007, Valley Blvd was again realigned to better accommodate traffic at the I-10 interchange. Sections of the 1930’s paving are now sticking out from under the asphalt.
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Long before the Isabella Reservoir was built in the 1950’s, State Highway 178 passed through the Kern River Valley on an alignment much different than it is today.
With the current drought, Lake Isabella is a puddle of what it used to be…but it’s amazing what the lake has hidden all these years. The lake has not been this low since 1977 and is the second lowest level since the dams were finished in 1953.
In April, I took two trips back to the areas near where the original towns of Isabella and Kernville stood before the lake covered them and their history. Unfortunately during my visit, the actual townsite of Isabella was still under several feet of water but the remains of the trees that use to shade the town are clearly visable sticking out of the lake in several photos.
Map to April 2014 photos
Thanks to Joel Windmiller for his assistance and historical photos of Old Isabella.
In the 1950’s, a section of what is now the 15 in San Diego was built. Known then as the Wabash Freeway, it ran from Harbor Blvd to 40th St in the City Heights area. Today, it is known as the 15 freeway and has been upgraded significantly. Access to the old freeway was a bit different than today. Nile Street in North Park used to have a direct connection with the freeway. Today, Nile Street ends in a park. A section of the old ramp still exists, however, as an access to the park.
Even in heavily built up Orange County, there can still be places where old highways can be seen. One of the best examples is located in Brea Canyon, where the Orange Freeway winds its way through open and undeveloped lands between Orange and Los Angeles Counties. Before the freeway, State 57 followed Brea Canyon Road. This two-lane roadway has changed little through here and has a few interesting features.
