Southern California Regional Rocks and Roads - Riverside County

Old US 60 in eastern Moreno Valley

Michael F Ballard — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:15:43 +0000

A short section of original US 60 can be found east of the intersection of Allesandro Blvd and Gilman Springs Road in the eastern Moreno Valley. This section of US 60 was bypassed by the current alignment, now State Route 60, in 1936. Gilman Springs Road, at that time, became State Route 79, which was ...

New Video – Indio Overhead Bridge

Michael F Ballard — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:02:28 +0000

The Historic Highway 99 Association of California has posted their latest episode of History along US 99. This time, they talk about the Indio Overhead, a grade separation from 1936 and 1956 in Indio, California.

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 ...

July Presentation

Michael F Ballard — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 16:59:20 +0000

On July 6, 2021 at 6 pm, I will be giving a presentation for the Historic Highway 99 Association of California on the history of US 99 through the San Gorgonio Pass. The route will be covered from Thousand Palms to Calimesa. Photos of the route, new and old, as well as maps showing the ...

Featured Image – 5/21/2021

Michael F Ballard — Fri, 21 May 2021 20:40:14 +0000

From the Archives – This map of the Lake Elsinore area comes to us from San Diego County dating from November 1883. At the time, Elsinore was a part of San Diego County. In 1893, this area became a part of Riverside County.

US 99 – Edom to Calimesa – Part 2

Michael F Ballard — Sun, 17 Jan 2021 01:39:45 +0000

Part 2 – Banning to Calimesa Banning and BeaumontRamsey St and 6th St Through the town of Banning, US 99 was first paved with a 16′ concrete slab in 1922, similar to sections east of town. Minor improvements were made a few years later in 1925. Beaumont would get theirs in 1923, albeit a with ...

US 99 – Edom to Calimesa – Part 1

Michael F Ballard — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 00:52:53 +0000

Part 1 – Edom to Banning Varner Road and Garnet RoadThousand Palms to Garnet From Thousand Palms to Garnet, old US 99 ran along Varner Road and Garnet Road. This was the original alignment and lasted until the 1940’s when this section was upgraded to an expressway on a new alignment. In January 1922, construction ...

Featured Image – 1/1/2021

Michael F Ballard — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 03:06:15 +0000

A bit of US 60 and US 99

Michael F Ballard — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 23:05:32 +0000

I went for a ride on my motorcycle today. Just needed to just get out for a bit. Part of my journey took me through Idyllwild, via State 74 and 243. No photos of that section though, as I was too busy having fun on the motorcycle. The “slalom” section, as the locals seem to ...

Featured Image – 3/30/2019

Michael F Ballard — Sat, 30 Mar 2019 19:32:07 +0000