Route information | ||||
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Maintained by Caltrans | ||||
Length | 178.528 mi [1] (287.313 km) (plus about 0.5 mi (1 km) on SR 20) | |||
History | State highway in 1910 and 1931; became SR 24 in 1934, US 40A in 1954, and SR 70 in 1964 | |||
Tourist routes | Feather River Scenic Byway | |||
Major junctions | ||||
Southwest end | SR 99 near Pleasant Grove | |||
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Northeast end | US 395 at Hallelujah Junction | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | California | |||
Counties | Sutter, Yuba, Butte, Plumas, Lassen | |||
Highway system | ||||
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State Route 70 (SR 70) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, connecting SR 99 north of Sacramento with U.S. Route 395 (US 395) near Beckwourth Pass (lowest in the Sierra Nevada) via the Feather River Canyon. Through the Feather River Canyon, from SR 149 to US 395, SR 70 is the Feather River Scenic Byway, a Forest Service Byway that parallels the ex-Western Pacific Railroad's Feather River Route.
The Beckwourth Trail was the earliest predecessor of SR 70, which was a spur of the California Trail. This was followed by the railroad, mostly built on the route of the trail; a dirt road was needed for construction that was later converted into part of the present state highway. Construction on the highway began in 1928, which involved the boring of three tunnels. Previously, the road was signed as U.S. Route 40 Alternate, crossing the Sierra Nevada at a lower elevation than Donner Pass on US 40, now Interstate 80 (I-80). The road was renumbered SR 70 in the 1964 state highway renumbering. Today, portions of SR 70 have been upgraded to a four-lane expressway, and even a freeway in a few locations.
State Route 70 begins at a partial interchange with SR 99 north of Sacramento, close to the Feather River Route rail line that parallels the entire highway, and heads north along a four-lane mix of expressway and freeway. Just north of the Bear River crossing / Yuba County line, in Plumas Lake, SR 70 becomes a freeway for the second time, which continues to just beyond the Yuba River in Marysville. Within that city, SR 70 makes two turns and overlaps SR 20 before heading north on a two-lane road. Another four-lane freeway begins south of SR 162 in Oroville, and ends at SR 149. SR 149 is a major connection northwest to SR 99, and became the straight-through movement when the construction to replace the intersection with an interchange was completed in November 2008. [2] The State Scenic Highway portion of SR 70 begins at SR 149, which is where SR 70 turns northeast out of the Sacramento Valley and into the mountains. The short SR 191 spurs north to Paradise, while SR 70 crosses the West Branch Feather River on the double-decker West Branch Bridge, with the Feather River Route below. A short four-lane section runs over the bridge towards Jarbo Gap, where the present SR 70 merges with the old road (Dark Canyon Road) that was used before the Feather River was dammed to create Lake Oroville in the 1960s. [3]
After crossing through Jarbo Gap, SR 70 drops down into the canyon of the North Fork Feather River, which it follows almost to Quincy, usually on the opposite side from the Feather River Route; this results in two places where both transportation lines cross the river and each other. The first of these is the Pulga Bridge, an arch bridge that crosses over a lower railroad truss bridge; soon after are the highway's three tunnels through rock formations in the canyon. After a fair distance through the canyon, and that formed by the East Branch North Fork Feather River, SR 70 reaches the junction with State Route 89 near Paxton; Routes 70 and 89 overlap southeast from that point, where the East Branch splits into Indian Creek and Spanish Creek. [3]
The highway heads southeast, partly along the latter creek, past Keddie to Quincy in the American Valley. It leaves the valley via Greenhorn Creek, passing the Feather River Route's Williams Loop and then following the small Estray Creek to Lee Summit, which the rail line passes under in the Spring Garden Tunnel. This brings SR 70 into the valley of the Middle Fork Feather River, which takes it southeast to Blairsden, where the State Scenic Highway ends and State Route 89 splits to the south, and then east, through the Plumas National Forest, to Portola and Beckwourth. The large Sierra Valley begins at the latter community, and SR 70 heads almost directly across, passing the north end of SR 49 at Vinton and the south end of SR 284 at Chilcoot before crossing Beckwourth Pass, which the railroad takes the Chilcoot Tunnel under, and descending slightly to end at U.S. 395 at Hallelujah Junction. [3]
The portion of SR 70 west of State Route 89 near Blairsden is also eligible for the State Scenic Highway System, [4] but has not been designated as such by Caltrans. [5] The entire route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, [6] though it is mostly two lanes. SR 70 south of SR 149 is part of the National Highway System, [7] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration. [8] All of SR 70 is designated as the Feather River Scenic Byway, a National Forest Scenic Byway. [9]
James Beckwourth opened the Beckwourth Trail over Beckwourth Pass in 1851, crossing the Sierra Nevada at a lower elevation than the existing Donner Pass route of the California Trail. This split from the Truckee Route of the California Trail near Reno and roughly followed the present SR 70 to Quincy, but, rather than passing through the Feather River Canyon, it followed Oroville-Quincy Highway along ridges to Bidwell's Bar. [10] A company was incorporated on July 23, 1855, to build the Quincy and Spanish Ranch Wagon Road, which bypassed the older trail from Quincy west to Spanish Ranch and began collecting tolls in November. The Pioneer Wagon Road, another toll road, was built in 1856 and 1857, continuing the improvements southwest to Buckeye (just before the Butte County line). An 1866 law authorized Plumas County to improve the portion from Quincy east to Beckwourth. The county also improved the road east from Beckwourth over the pass as part of the Red Clover Wagon Road, which began at Genesee and was completed in the 1870s. [11]
The Western Pacific Railroad completed its main line into California in 1909. This followed the old Beckwourth Trail east of Quincy, but to the west it reached Oroville and Marysville via the Feather River Canyon. While building the railroad, the Utah Construction Company had created a dirt road through the canyon to assist with construction; citizens created the Plumas County Road Association in 1911 to push for improvements to this roadway and creation of a year-round route between Oroville and Quincy (the existing route over the ridges was closed for at least four months each winter). The first state highway bond issue, passed by the state's voters in 1910, included a Route 30 connecting Oroville with Quincy. Plumas County surveyor Arthur W. Keddie surveyed the Feather River Canyon route for the California Highway Commission in 1913, but the state announced in 1916 that the existing ridge route would be improved. After much debate, the state legislative road committee included the statement that this route would follow the Feather River in the 1919 amendment authorizing a third bond issue; [12] instead of keeping it as Route 30, the Highway Commission changed the designation to an extension of the short Richvale-Oroville (now SR 162) Route 21, which was also part of the first bond issue. [13] [14]
Construction began on July 1, 1928, with convict labor for the easier portions and contractors for the remainder, as well as bridges and tunnels, but was slowed by the Great Depression. On the most difficult portion, between Cresta and Rock Creek, three tunnels had to be built at Arch Rock, Grizzly Dome, and Elephant Butte; at the former two, surveyors had to hang out on rope over steep granite slopes, and rockslides repeatedly caused delays. The commission dedicated the road at a ceremony at Grizzly Dome, halfway between the ends, on August 14, 1937. Construction had cost $8.15 million for 78 miles (126 km) of new road. The remainder of the old trail from Quincy to the junction with Route 29 (now U.S. 395) east of Beckwourth Pass was added to the state highway system in 1931 as an extension of Route 21, [15] and was paved by 1936. [14] A new Route 87 was created in 1933, stretching from Woodland via Marysville and Oroville to Route 3 (State Route 99) southeast of Chico, including the present SR 70 between Marysville and Oroville. [16] [17] Route 87 from Woodland to Oroville and Route 21 from Oroville to east of Beckwourth Pass became a new State Route 24 in 1934; [18] State Route 24 was extended southwest from Woodland to Oakland by the end of 1937. [19]
Location | Sacramento, California–Reno, Nevada |
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Existed | 1954–1964 |
In 1954, [20] [21] the original part of State Route 24 was replaced by U.S. Route 40 Alternate, which continued south on U.S. 99W from Woodland to Davis and southeast on U.S. 395 to Reno, Nevada to join U.S. 40 at both ends. [22] A direct route from Marysville south to Sacramento was added to the state highway system in 1949 as Route 232, [23] [24] and later became part of a rerouted State Route 24. [25] The U.S. 40 Alternate designation was short-lived, and was mostly replaced by State Route 70 in the 1964 renumbering. Southwest of Marysville, former U.S. 40 Alternate instead became State Route 113, and SR 70 ran south along former State Route 24 (Route 232) to a point north of Sacramento, where the new State Route 99 came in from the northwest and continued south. [26] [27] Despite SR 70 always ending at State Route 99, it was once signed along State Route 99 (El Centro Road, Garden Highway, and the Jibboom Street Bridge) to Sacramento. [28]
When it was originally built, the Feather River Highway northeast from Oroville followed the present Oroville Dam Boulevard (County Route B2) to the present location of the Oroville Dam, and then ran north and northeast alongside the North Fork Feather River along a route now covered by Lake Oroville. It left to the north on Dark Canyon Road, meeting the present alignment at Jarbo Gap. [29] Since the old road would be flooded, a $14.8 million new alignment, much of it four lanes, was built around the west side; the Western Pacific Railroad was also relocated to a nearby alignment. [30] The double-decker West Branch Bridge over the West Branch Feather River northwest of the dam, carrying the highway above the rail line, was dedicated on August 15, 1962. [31] Three portions of SR 70 have been upgraded to freeways: north of SR 99 to Berry and Kempton Roads in the early 2010s; south from Marysville to the State Route 65 split in the mid-1950s, extended farther south in the late 1960s and late 2000s; and around downtown Oroville, built in the early 1960s. [32] In 2004, SR 70 was upgraded to a four-lane expressway between Feather River Boulevard north of the Bear River and the Yuba/Sutter county line to the freeway portion south of McGowan Parkway. [33] A freeway interchange was constructed in 2008 at Plumas Lake Boulevard for access to the Plumas Lake development previously served at an uncontrolled intersection with Plumas Arboga Road. The removal of this intersection effectively upgraded the expressway portion to freeway south to the Feather River Boulevard intersection. [34] [35] [36] In the early 2010s, the last two-lane segment of SR 70 south of Marysville was expanded to a four-lane expressway, with a freeway section bypassing the small town of East Nicolaus to the west. In 2015, the interchange with Feather River Boulevard in Plumas Lake was opened to traffic, eliminating the last signalized intersection between Sacramento (with SR 99) and Marysville. [37]
Between Marysville and Oroville, SR 70 is being widened to a four-lane expressway, with a center left-turn lane and eight foot wide shoulders on each side. [38] The project is estimated to be complete by 2024 with the portions between SR 162 and East Gridley Road already complete. [39]
Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on primarily a south-to-north alignment (especially the freeway segment between State Route 99 and State Route 149), and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary ( ). [1] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.
County | Location | Postmile [1] [32] [40] | Exit [41] | Destinations | Notes |
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Sutter SUT R0.05-8.30 | | R0.05 | SR 99 south – Sacramento | Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance; southwestern terminus of SR 70; SR 99 north exit 319 | |
| M1.00 | Striplin Road to SR 99 north – Yuba City | |||
| South end of freeway | ||||
East Nicolaus | M3.99 | 4 | Nicolaus Avenue | ||
| North end of freeway | ||||
| South end of freeway | ||||
Yuba YUB 0.00-25.82 | Plumas Lake | R0.35 | 9 | Feather River Boulevard | |
R3.47 | 12 | Plumas Lake Boulevard | |||
Olivehurst | R7.35 | 16 | McGowan Parkway | ||
R8.29 | 17 | SR 65 south – Roseville | Southbound left exit and northbound entrance; northern terminus of SR 65 | ||
R9.28 | 18A | Olivehurst (Olivehurst Avenue) | |||
Linda | R10.16 | 18B | Erle Road | ||
R11.39 13.01 | 20A | Feather River Boulevard | Serves Beale AFB, Yuba College (northbound only) | ||
13.23 | 20B | North Beale Road | No southbound entrance; serves Beale AFB, Yuba College | ||
Marysville | 14.08 | — | 1st Street, F Street | Southbound entrance only | |
14.25 | North end of freeway | ||||
14.70 0.99 [N 1] | SR 20 west (E Street) / 9th Street – Yuba City | South end of SR 20 overlap; former US 40 Alt. west | |||
1.47 [N 1] 14.71 | SR 20 east (12th Street) – Grass Valley | North end of SR 20 overlap | |||
Butte BUT 0.00-48.08 | | South end of freeway | |||
Oroville | 13.90 | 46 | SR 162 (Oroville Dam Boulevard, SR 70 Bus. east) – Richvale | ||
14.61 | 47 | Montgomery Street (CR B2) | |||
15.43– 15.72 | 48 | Grand Avenue, Nelson Avenue | |||
| 16.63 | 49 | Garden Drive (SR 70 Bus. west) | ||
Wicks Corner | 20.48 | — | SR 149 north to SR 99 – Chico, Red Bluff | Southern terminus of SR 149 | |
| North end of freeway | ||||
| 21.87 | SR 191 north (Clark Road) / Table Mountain Boulevard – Paradise | Southern terminus of SR 191 | ||
| 28.22 | West Branch Bridge over West Branch Feather River | |||
| 40.99 | Pulga Bridge over North Fork Feather River | |||
| 47.15 | Arch Rock Tunnel | |||
Plumas PLU 0.00-95.96 | | 0.77 | Grizzly Dome Tunnel | ||
| 0.99 | Elephant Butte Tunnel | |||
| 33.03 | SR 89 north – Greenville, Lake Almanor | West end of SR 89 overlap | ||
| 49.80 | Massack Rest Area | |||
Blairsden | R66.63 | SR 89 south – Truckee | East end of SR 89 overlap | ||
Portola | 75.96 | CR A15 (Gulling Street) | Northern terminus of CR A15 | ||
| R79.20 | Davis Rest Area | |||
Beckwourth | R80.32 | CR A23 (Beckwourth-Calpine Road) – Calpine | Northern terminus of CR A23 | ||
| 83.17 | CR A24 (Beckwourth-Loyalton Road) | Northern terminus of CR A24 | ||
Vinton | 92.07 | SR 49 south – Loyalton | Northern terminus of SR 49 | ||
Chilcoot | 94.28 | SR 284 (Frenchman Lake Road) / Patterson Street – Frenchman Lake Recreation Area | Southern terminus of SR 284 | ||
| 95.76 [42] | Beckwourth Pass, elevation 5,212 feet (1,589 m) [42] | |||
Lassen LAS 0.00-3.89 | Hallelujah Junction | 3.89 | US 395 – Reno, Susanville | Interchange; northeastern terminus of SR 70; US 395 exit 8; former US 40 Alt. east | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Plumas County is a county located in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,790. The county seat is Quincy, and the only incorporated city is Portola. The largest community in the county is East Quincy. The county was named for the Spanish Río de las Plumas, which flows through it. The county itself is also the namesake of a native moth species, Hadena plumasata.
State Route 99 (SR 99) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California, stretching almost the entire length of the Central Valley. From its southern end at Interstate 5 (I-5) near Wheeler Ridge to its northern end at SR 36 near Red Bluff, SR 99 goes through the densely populated eastern parts of the valley. Cities served include Bakersfield, Delano, Tulare, Visalia, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Turlock, Modesto, Manteca, Stockton, Sacramento, Yuba City, and Chico.
State Route 24 is a heavily traveled east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that serves the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay Area. A freeway throughout its entire length, it runs from the Interstate 580/Interstate 980 interchange in Oakland, and through the Caldecott Tunnel under the Berkeley Hills, to the Interstate 680 junction in Walnut Creek. It lies in Alameda County, where it is highly urban, and Contra Costa County, where it passes through wooded hillsides and suburbs. SR 24 is a major connection between the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge/MacArthur Maze complex and the inland cities of the East Bay.
State Route 160 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California consisting of two sections. The longer, southern, section is a scenic highway through the alluvial plain of the Sacramento River, linking SR 4 in Antioch with Sacramento via the Antioch Bridge. The northern section, separated from the southern by Sacramento city streets, is the North Sacramento Freeway, running from the 16th Street Bridge over the American River to Interstate 80 Business towards Roseville.
State Route 126 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that serves Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The route runs from U.S. Route 101 in Ventura to Interstate 5 at the Castaic Junction-Santa Clarita border through the Santa Clara River Valley. The highway is an important connector highway in Ventura County, and serves as an alternate route into the Santa Clarita Valley, and the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles and the High Desert of Antelope Valley.
State Route 12 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that travels in an east–west direction from State Route 116 in Sebastopol in Sonoma County to State Route 49 just north of San Andreas in Calaveras County. The route connects the Sonoma and Napa valleys with the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and the Sierra Foothills. It is constructed to freeway standards from the Fulton Road/South Wright Road stoplight in Santa Rosa, to its partial interchange with Farmers Lane.
State Route 4 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, routed from Interstate 80 in the San Francisco Bay Area to State Route 89 in the Sierra Nevada. It roughly parallels the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a popular area for boating and fishing, with a number of accesses to marinas and other attractions. After crossing the Central Valley, the highway ascends up the Sierra foothills. It passes through Ebbetts Pass and contains the Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway.
State Route 68 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, located entirely in Monterey County. It runs from Asilomar State Beach in Pacific Grove to U.S. Route 101 in Salinas. The approximately 20-mile (32 km) long highway serves as a major route between the Monterey Peninsula and Salinas.
State Route 20 is a state highway in the northern-central region of the U.S. state of California, running east–west north of Sacramento from the North Coast to the Sierra Nevada. Its west end is at SR 1 in Fort Bragg, from where it heads east past Clear Lake, Colusa, Yuba City, Marysville and Nevada City to I-80 near Emigrant Gap, where eastbound traffic can continue on other routes to Lake Tahoe or Nevada.
State Route 29 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that travels from Interstate 80 in Vallejo north to State Route 20 in Upper Lake. It serves as the primary road through the Napa Valley, providing access to the Lake County region to the north and the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area to the south.
State Route 89 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that travels in the north–south direction, serving as a major thoroughfare for many mountain communities in the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range. It starts from U.S. Route 395 near Topaz Lake, winding its way up to the 8,314-foot (2,534 m) Monitor Pass, down to the Carson River, and up again over the 7,740-foot (2,359 m) Luther Pass. From that point on, the route generally loses elevation on its way past Lake Tahoe, through Tahoe and Plumas National Forests until Lake Almanor. For roughly nine miles the route is then a part of State Route 36. The route then ascends to the 5,753-foot (1,754 m) Morgan Summit. After it enters Lassen Volcanic National Park it continues to gain elevation until it reaches its highest point in an unnamed pass in the middle of Lassen Peak and Bumpass Mountain. The road then descends and heads northwest, finally terminating at Interstate 5 at the foot of Mount Shasta at around 3,600 feet (1,100 m).
State Route 36 is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that is routed from U.S. Route 101 in Humboldt County to U.S. Route 395 just east of Susanville in Lassen County. The highway passes through Red Bluff, the county seat of Tehama County, on the northern edge of the Sacramento Valley. The portion of SR 36 travelling past Lassen Volcanic National Park and Lake Almanor is part of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway. Also, Route 36 between Alton and Susanville is a designated Blue Star Memorial Highway.
State Route 198 is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from U.S. Route 101 south of King City to Sequoia National Park. It connects the California Central Coast to the mid–Central Valley through Hanford and Visalia, although the most developed portion is in the Central Valley itself. SR 198 intersects the major north–south routes in the Central Valley, including Interstate 5 (I-5), SR 33, and SR 99.
State Route 65 is a north-south state highway in the U.S. state of California. It is composed of two segments in the Central Valley. The southern segment begins at SR 99, near Bakersfield and terminates at SR 198 near Exeter. It also serves the communities of Oildale, Ducor, Terra Bella, Porterville, Strathmore, and Lindsay. The northern segment begins at Interstate 80 in Roseville and terminates at SR 70 at Olivehurst. It also serves the communities of Rocklin, Lincoln, and Wheatland.
State Route 180 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs through the heart of the San Joaquin Valley from State Route 33 in Mendota through Fresno, and then east towards the Sierra Nevada to Kings Canyon National Park.
Beckwourth Pass is the lowest mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada mountain range at an elevation of 5,221 feet (1,591 m).
State Route 162 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs roughly west–east through the Coast Ranges and the Sacramento Valley to the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. It begins at U.S. Route 101 near Longvale, in Mendocino County, and ends at Brush Creek, in Butte County. For most of its length, it is a two lane, undivided highway. SR 162 is not signed as a contiguous route through Mendocino National Forest in Mendocino and Glenn counties. Instead, the portion inside the national forest is federally maintained by the U.S. Forest Service as Forest Highway 7 (FH 7), and is not included in the state route logs.
State Route 149 is a short state highway in the U.S. state of California that helps to connect Oroville and Chico through rural Butte County. Connecting State Route 70 at Wicks Corner with State Route 99 east of Durham, it forms part of the primary north–south highway through the eastern Sacramento Valley, a Focus Route of the Interregional Road System.
U.S. Route 50 (US 50) is a transcontinental United States Numbered Highway, stretching from West Sacramento, California, in the west to Ocean City, Maryland, in the east. The California portion of US 50 runs east from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento to the Nevada state line in South Lake Tahoe. A portion in Sacramento also has the unsigned designation of Interstate 305. The western half of the highway in California is a four-or-more-lane divided highway, mostly built to freeway standards, and known as the El Dorado Freeway outside of downtown Sacramento. US 50 continues as an undivided highway with one eastbound lane and two westbound lanes until the route reaches the canyon of the South Fork American River at Riverton. The remainder of the highway, which climbs along and out of the canyon, then over the Sierra Nevada at Echo Summit and into the Lake Tahoe Basin, is primarily a two-lane road.
Interstate 5 (I-5) is a major north–south route of the Interstate Highway System in the United States, stretching from the Mexican border at the San Ysidro crossing to the Canadian border near Blaine, Washington. The segment of I-5 in California runs 796.77 miles (1,282.28 km) across the length of the state from San Ysidro to the Oregon state line south of the Medford-Ashland metropolitan area. It is the longest interstate in California, and accounts for more than half of I-5's total length. It is also the second longest stretch of Interstate Highway with a single designation within a single state after I-10 in Texas.