Don't Change My Freeway!

One of the first freeways built in the western US, was the Pasadena Freeway. Originally called Arroyo Seco Parkway, it has also been known at US 66 and now "The 110". The parkway was the beginning of the massive web of freeways around Los Angeles.

Arroyo Seco is Spanish for Dry Streambed. This route was first used by wagons in the 1800's during the dry summer season as a better alternate than the regular roads. There were attempts to use the path for an elevated bicycle route at the end of the 19th century, but the bicycle craze ended, especially since a rail line was there and the motorcar was starting to change the traveling landscape.

The Parkway was in some ways designed as more of a park than a roadway. It was very modern for 1940. The route became a speedy way for the business barons to commute between they downtown jobs and their beautiful homes in the Pasadena suburbs. Instead of solid medians there were merely flowers and a art deco curb dividing the northbound from the southbound lanes.

The parkway was built with stylish Art Deco bridges, tunnels and overpasses. Most of the ramps were an easy merge with the lighter traffic then, but some of the intersections were right angle turns giving hardly any time to get up to speed. Some still have a stop sign protecting you from the steady stream of cars flying by. A few of the bridges were built to cross the Arroyo Seco canyon long before the consideration of a freeway.

Built to handle 27,000 cars a day at 45 mph, it was a relaxing drive down the parkway. As Los Angeles expanded and more freeways were built the medians floral displays gave way to a steel railing. Today the freeway carries about 125,000 cars on virtually the same roadway that was opened 70 years ago.

The California Department of Transportation (or Caltrans) say it's a very accident prone highway due to speeding drivers. Many accidents damage the divider's steel railing. It's harder to repair than a concrete barrier and concrete barriers are safer, too. Since there is no good alternate for traveling between Pasadena and L.A., the state transportation department is in process of changing the parkway into a less dangerous and more-modern freeway. However, when it comes to a Historic Highway, safety isn't everything to everybody. Some are protesting the safety improvements as too much of a change to this National Civil Engineering Landmark.

Among the original design features to be removed are the curbs with designations built in to note the direction of travel. Parkway lovers say that those designations are as important as the Art Deco bridges and sycamore trees lining the route.

The changes still appear to be on the Caltrans schedule.

Links
AP News Story
History at Wikipedia
Postcard views
LA Times construction photos
Virtual Drive The 110
Google Map
Downloadable Los Angeles Map
The Freeways of Los Angeles Book


Copyright 2010

Where did the US Route Shield come from?

You can trace the roots (not routes) of the US Route shield to the founding of our country. Before it adjourned on July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress of the newly independent United States passed a resolution:
Resolved, that Dr. Franklin, Mr. J. Adams and Mr. Jefferson, be a committee, to bring in a device for a seal for the United States of America.
It wasn’t until 1782 that they came up with the final version of the seal. It has changed slightly over the years. You probably may and handle it every day as both sides of the seal are on the back of the US One Dollar Bill.
The US Route Shield was modeled after the shield in front of the eagle. Some earlier versions of the seal shield look even closer to the route shield shape.
Part of the logic of the new roads was to have a national numbering system that was consistent state to state, and as part of that the signs should be of similar shape and standards as well.
Along with the numbered shields, there were also smaller shields with only an “L” or “R” noting which way to turn at an intersection to stay on the route.

When they first start posting the US Routes in the 1920’s there were very little signage even noting road names or even where they went. When Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson and his his co-driver Sewall K. Crocker, went on the first coast-to-coast road trip in 1903, even when they had a road to drive on, they spent much of their time lost going down the wrong roads.


The shield itself hasn’t changed in shape much, but what is inside has. The “font” of the numbers has rounded over the years. Before reflective signs came into being, small round reflecting eyes were used to ease viewing at night. Slowly the US or the state name disappeared and so did the line dividing the top and the bottom. There were even some more colorful versions to help direct drivers to different cities.
Today, US Route signs are very simple black numbers on a white shield. Depending on the use, sometimes it’s a square black background, or cutout and place on a larger green sign. Always with style, California cuts out the sign to the shape of the shield.

For State Highways, there are all sorts of versions. A common one is the use of the shape of the state or the state seal as the outline.

The Beehive state of Utah, uses a Beehive.
Washington uses an outline of George Washington’s profile.
North Dakota uses an outline of an Indian chief.
Colorado uses their state flag.

Less creative is the use of geometric shapes like a square or circle.


Many state shields have evolved over the year as well. Oregon used the fancier outline of their state seal until they modernized to the simpler looking shape.




If you are a road geek of sorts, you have probably enjoyed finding an old original US Route sign on a decommissioned highway. This happens fairly often by accident or omission as they are left behind. Often the old US route number remains as a state highway number, so I guess they can save a few bucks by leaving the sign behind.

Some overhead intersection signs in the Portland suburb city of Tigard, Oregon were recently changed on old US99W. This is now state highway 99W. I noticed it wasn’t the state shape, but it wasn't the US Shield either. They used a fully white Interstate Highway shield. Well, I think someone had a nice historical thought anyway. *

We have t-shirts, hats and other "shielded" items an our Old Route Souvenir Shop.

If you know where an actual old US Route shield remains on a former or decommissioned US Route, please write me at OldRoutes@gmail.com.
If you want to know even more, check out http://www.us-highways.com/ussign.htm from Robert V. Droz.
See all the State Route Shields at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_U.S._Roads/Shields/Database

Get your own realistic US Route Sign.




*99W sign in Tigard Oregon, Copyright 2008 Dan Smith