Southern California Regional Rocks and Roads - Image

From the Archives – 1964

Michael F Ballard — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 23:53:18 +0000

Barstow has grown quite a bit since this photo was taken. Shown here, the original Main Street exit, which was originally built as a freeway-freeway interchange meant for US 466 / State 58 and connected Main Street (Former US 66 and US 91) to the then-new freeway. The Main Street interchange was redone in 1998 ...

Featured Image – 3/15/2023

Michael F Ballard — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 20:04:25 +0000

A Santa Ana wind event in January 2026 cleared the air after a storm, revealing some impressive vistas. Here, you can see snow-capped Mt San Gorgonio in the San Bernardino Mountain, about 90 miles away from the University City area of San Diego at sunset. The hills in the middle-ground are near San Marcos.

Featured Image – 10/17/2022

Michael F Ballard — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 19:09:47 +0000

Shown here, I-805 (upper) crosses the 52 freeway (lower) at San Clemente Canyon. Built in 1972, it formed the eastern terminus of the 52 for many years. In 1987, was extended to Convoy St. I-805 also follows the former boundary between the San Diego Mission Lands (east) and San Diego Pueblo Lands (west). This becomes ...

Featured Image – 8/21/2022

Michael F Ballard — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 02:57:17 +0000

Hidden below I-5 just north of Valencia Blvd next to a drainage basin, a bit of US 99 history remains in Santa Clarita, California. A culvert, dating to 1929, has survived through an expressway upgrade in 1949, freeway construction in 1967, bridge replacement construction in 2001, and current widening work in 2022. How much longer ...

Featured Image – 5/31/2022

Michael F Ballard — Tue, 31 May 2022 23:21:25 +0000

The Greenspot Road bridge, locally known as the “Erector Set Bridge” has an interesting history. It was originally built in 1912 located near Victorville at the Mojave Narrows. In 1932, the bridge was dismantled and replaced with a wider span for US Highway 66. In 1933, San Bernardino County purchased a portion of the span ...

From the Archives – 1923

Michael F Ballard — Sat, 19 Mar 2022 22:52:08 +0000

The Ridge Route on US 99 between Castaic and Gorman was a very twisty roadway when it first opened. All told, there was about 39,600 degrees of curvature over the approximately 30-mile route, enough to go in 110 circles. The state gradually worked to alleviate this headache by straightening curves whenever possible. Some curves were ...

From the Archives – 1935

Michael F Ballard — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 01:57:47 +0000

In 1936, US 60 was realigned between Moreno Valley and Beaumont. This realignment took the highway off of the Jackrabbit Trail and put it on a new alignment through the Badlands. This is the same alignment State 60 follows today. This photo from 1935 shows the immense cuts and fills that were necessary for even ...

From the Archives – 1960

Michael F Ballard — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 16:30:35 +0000

The view is looking east from the Taylor St ramps on I-8, then signed as US 80, in 1960. A lot has changed in San Diego’s Mission Valley in the 62 years since this photo was taken. At the time, Mission Valley was sparsely developed with mostly open lands and dairy farms filling the valley. ...

Featured Image – 12/4/2021

Michael F Ballard — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 19:21:35 +0000

From the Archives – 1959 A lot has changed in southern Orange County since 1959. Gone are most of the orange groves and wide-open spaces. Today, this view is very different but a surprising amount of what is seen does remain. This photo, taken in 1959, shows the US 101 freeway and the original alignment ...

Featured Image – 9/4/2021

Michael F Ballard — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 03:28:38 +0000

In 1949, La Cienega Blvd was extended through the Baldwin Hills. This roadway was eventually to become a part of the State Route 170 Laurel Canyon Freeway. Interchanges and grade separations were built with this in mind. Access to the roadway was also controlled, making it easier to upgrade the roadway to a full freeway ...