Highway 60 In Calif

[black85vette]

I am planning a trip to the east on parts of Hwy 60. I mapped out all of it on my laptop except where I-10 in California replaced it. I know it did not follow I-10 when it went from Indio to Mecca and then east to Chiriaco. But I was wondering if there are any other sections of old road alignments out there.

 

Could be some through the towns and along some access roads. Anyone know of any vintage bridges or road beds in California on what was US 60?

[mga707]

Hobson Way is old US 60 (and 70) through Blythe, just north of and parallel to I-10. Farther west, Chuckwalla Road is another cut off section of old 60(/70) between Blythe and Desert Center.

[black85vette]

Hobson Way is old US 60 (and 70) through Blythe, just north of and parallel to I-10. Farther west, Chuckwalla Road is another cut off section of old 60(/70) between Blythe and Desert Center.

 

Just the type of info I am needing. 60 does not have nearly the amount of information that 66 has making it more difficult to find old alignments.

 

Thanks!

[mga707]

Thanks. Glad to help. You only asked about old California alignments so I did not mention it, but just across the Colorado River in my state (Arizona), there are two other old 60/70 alignments. The old road veers north from I-10 immediately east of the bridge and goes away from the present alignment for about 6 1/2 miles, through the now-abandoned original settlement of Ehrenberg, before eventually rejoining the current road. What is current called Ehrenberg is the commercial area around Exit 1 and is several miles from the original townsite. You can exit 10 at the first Arizona exit (Exit 1) and rejoin it at the second exit (Exit 5) to travel on this old alignment. Another old alignment is drivable between exits 11 and 17. Now called Dome Rock Road, this section is to the south of the present Interstate alignment.

Edited October 15, 2011 by mga707

[black85vette]

Glad to help. You only asked about old California alignments.

 

Thanks for the additional info. I am interested in the other alignments as well so I will add both of those to my plans. We love to explore old original alignments. We have traveled every accessible alignment of US 66. Here is a link to my map project for 66:

 

http://route66map.publishpath.com/google-map

 

I am putting the US 60 map into my laptop now for a fall trip to the east from Oklahoma and then next spring to the west. I was starting with California since it wiped out 60 with I-10. Any other original alignments you know about would be very helpful.

 

Rick

[black85vette]

I found this reference to two abandonded sections in Arizona:

 

http://www.aaroads.com/guide.php?page=u0060abaz

 

Both sections are clear in satellite images. Shaping up to be a great trip with plenty to explore.

[mga707]

I see you are already familiar with the old alignments on the mountainous stretch between Superior and Globe from the above post. I'll also assume that you know that the original 60 alignment through metro Phoenix/Tempe/Mesa/Apache Junction was not via the freeways as it is currently, but was (W to E) Grand Avenue/Van Buren Road/Mill Avenue (crossing the Salt River over two adjacent bridges--The older bridge is now closed to vehicles but is still walkable)/Apache Boulevard-Main Street-Apache Trail (all the same road but with name changes as it goes from Tempe to Mesa to Apache Junction)/Old West Highway (formerly Florence Highway).

 

An interesting factoid about this stretch of 60, extending eastward to Florence Junction, is that for several decades (1930s to 1960s) it was quadruple-designated as US/60/70/80/89. I cannot think of any other stretch of US highway that had four concurrent designators over such an extended stretch, with three of the four being 'major' zero-digit routes, and the fourth one a border-to-border N-S route (89).

 

The 60 segment from Globe NE to Show Low is interesting, not so much for old alignments (there are some of those, but they are all close to the present alignment on either side), but for the fact that is was the last stretch of 60 to be completed in Arizona, not being fully constructed until circa-1940. The Salt River Canyon certainly provided construction challenges. If one looks on Arizona state highway maps from the 1930s, a "Temporary US 60" is shown, over the following routing: US 70 from Globe to San Carlos, including what is now Apache Route 6 (Old San Carlos Road) from Cutter to San Carlos; thence from San Carlos to what is now AZ State Route 73 via Apache Routes 10, 4, and 9; thence via 73 to Carrizo Junction and back onto what is still US 60 to Show Low. Most of these reservation roads between San Carlos and AZ 73 are unpaved even today, and must have been a truly wild and harrowing adventure in the 1930s!

 

The only other major old 60 alignment that I am aware of in eastern Arizona is a drivable stretch east of Springerville that goes first north of and then south of the present alignment and is signed as Old Highway 60.

 

Hope I have been of help and interest.

Edited October 16, 2011 by mga707

[black85vette]

 

Hope I have been of help and interest.

 

Yes, very helpful. You can only assume I know about what I have posted here since I am just starting the planning. I will include the other alignments you mentioned on my map also. At some point I will put it out there in a .kml format for Googlemaps. I would like to compile this information since there is not a lot out there on US 60. Having lived on or near it in Riverside CA and in Oklahoma I have some interest in exploring and documenting it.

 

I have downloaded some USGS topo maps from the 40's and will start with those. I have found them to very pretty accurate sources of information for old roads. I have already located the original alignments through Beaumont, Banning and Blythe on them. The USGS map project will wrap up next year and they will have every map they ever produced on line for download. They have a lot done now but CA and AZ are in the works to be complete by spring 2012.

 

Thanks for the additional tips. Send anything else you think of my way.

 

Regards,

Rick

[Keep the Show on the Road!]

Rick,

 

I have been following this series of posts with interest, and I'm pleased with several things....first that you have the interest and knowledge, second that mga707 provided such great info, and third that you noted that the USGS historical map project has gone live.

 

I knew that the USGS was collecting their old maps wherever they could find them, and planned to scan them. I feared they would "franchise" the job to some private concern, and we would end up paying again for what we already paid for once. I was delighted to visit their site and find them on line for free. Thanks so much for returning my attention to that project!! The old USGS maps are terrific for following old alignments.

 

Their news release announcing the live results is below, and a few clicks will take those interested to a world of great old maps. They say they will be releasing TIF versions soon (they are now pdf) which should allow overlays on Google Earth.

 

 

USGS New Release

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road

[black85vette]

Thanks to mga707 for the tip on Temporary 60 from Globe to Show Low following 73. I found some good Arizona maps here:

 

http://www.aaroads.com/west/maps/index.php

 

Got that alignment on the map now

[mga707]

Thanks to mga707 for the tip on Temporary 60 from Globe to Show Low following 73. I found some good Arizona maps here:

 

http://www.aaroads.com/west/maps/index.php

 

Got that alignment on the map now

 

You're quite welcome. I see from looking at your old AZ map site that my fuzzy memory was wrong in one respect: The 1930's "Temporary 60" did NOT turn westward upon reaching what is now still AZ 73, but rather stayed to the east and went through Whiteriver and McNary on it's way to Springerville. I had forgotten that the stretch of 60 between Show Low and Springerville/Eagar, via Vernon, was also a later construction.

My memory was based upon several visits to the map collection at the University of Arizona library. They have an extensive Arizona (and Tucson) map collection in their basement map room. Well worth a visit.

 

A digression: One thing I love about the 1930s Arizona state highway maps is that for a number of years the borders of them were decorated with what are now known as swastickas. Yes, the infamous Nazi logo, back when it was still an innocent Navajo symbol. You see, those dastardly National Socialists in Germany took the native American symbol, turned it around 180 degrees, and made it into something evil. The Navajo had used it for many centuries before the Nazi's swiped it.

 

I've also thought of one other area where there is an old 60 alignment, in my neighboring state to the east, New Mexico. Some years back we took one of many weekend trips to the "Land of Enchantment", and one of our stops was the Very Large Array radio telescope site west of Socorro. If you've seen the movie "Contact" you know the place: Dozens of radio telescopes radiating out in three lines from a central point. The visitor center and site headquarters is located a mile or two south of present-day 60, and I distinctly remember that the access road to the visitor center and the 'scopes was a road marked as "Old Highway 60". I also seem to remember that old 60 continued on to the west past the VLA site, still well south of current 60, but I don't know if the full segment is drivable or not.

Anyway, there's another one for you, in yet a third state no less!

Edited October 19, 2011 by mga707

[black85vette]

 

I've also thought of one other area where there is an old 60 alignment, in my neighboring state to the east, New Mexico. Some years back we took one of many weekend trips to the "Land of Enchantment", and one of our stops was the Very Large Array radio telescope site west of Socorro. The visitor center and site headquarters is located a mile or two south of present-day 60, and I distinctly remember that the access road to the visitor center and the 'scopes was a road marked as "Old Highway 60". I also seem to remember that old 60 continued on to the west past the VLA site, still well south of current 60,

 

That section is labeled in Google maps and on my DeLorme Topo map as old 60. Looks like it goes right through the middle of the VLA facility.

[black85vette]

I have my first rough version of a highway 60 .kml file. I have it pretty close but not down to the street level yet. The current route is in blue and red marks early or abandoned alignments. I tried to upload it here, but it didn't work. So if anyone wants the .kml to use in Google Earth just send me a note and I will email it to you.

 

Edit; this file has too many segments to view in Google Maps. It does not display the entire file.

Edited October 19, 2011 by black85vette

[black85vette]

Decided to throw together a quick web site with the map in a Google gadget pane. Also put the .kml on the second page of the site so you can download it if you want it. Map is here:

 

http://us60.publishpath.com/