Southern California Regional Rocks and Roads - Road Signs

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 ...

Western Terminus of US 66

Michael F Ballard — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 23:29:47 +0000

The west end of US 66, at least in popular culture, has always been at the Pacific Ocean, or at least close to it. Santa Monica Pier, at times, touts itself as the western end. The intersection of Ocean Blvd and Santa Monica Blvd also does the same. While both are scenic and somewhat obvious ...

Historic Sign Revealed in Los Angeles

Michael F Ballard — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 23:32:28 +0000

Either through heavy wind, corrosion, or a combination of the two, a section of “greenout” fell off a sign on the eastbound Ventura Freeway (State 134) recently at Victory Blvd. This sign, approaching the Golden State Freeway (I-5) has been there since 1961 when the freeway opened. In 1961, the Golden State Freeway was still ...

City of Madera Historic US 99 Signs

Michael F Ballard — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 19:55:18 +0000

The Historic Highway 99 Association of California just received approval for posting Historic Route 99 signs within the City of Madera. This exciting news! If you’d like to donate, they have set up a fundraiser on their site.

Highway 99 Update

Michael F Ballard — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 19:05:26 +0000

Big news for the Historic Highway 99 Association of California! They are getting ready to complete their first project, replacing the old and faded signs in Calexico at the south end of US 99. It is a small project but one worth the effort and a great step forward.

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 ...

Featured Image – 11/23/2020

Michael F Ballard — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 00:13:39 +0000

Near Valyermo, California, outside of Palmdale, the locals have placed signs where Pallet Creek Road crosses the San Andreas Fault. They picked a really nice spot too, as you have a sag area, fault scarp, and offset streams all easily visible from there. I recommend a visit!

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 ...

East Los Angeles Interchange Signage

Michael F Ballard — Sun, 17 May 2020 17:08:50 +0000

In 1958, when the East Los Angeles Interchange started to be built, the routes that were planned to go through it were a little different that what is there today. I-10 was originally to be State 26 and I-5 was a part of US 99. US 101 remained the same. State 60 was to be ...

Caltrans Sign Change

Michael F Ballard — Sun, 15 Dec 2019 18:22:26 +0000

In June 2019, I sent a message to Caltrans requesting a change in the signage on I-805 northbound at El Cajon Blvd. The sign didn’t reflect the lane assignments and can be confusing to motorists not familiar with the interchange. In November, I got a response and they will not only change the sign but ...