U.S. Highway 199



History/Info

US 199 is a spur of now decomissioned US 99. It is a relatively short route, going only 80 miles. It also happens to be one of the 3 US highways in California that have the distinction of not being truncated.


* Previous mileage

Among the three branches of US Highway 99, US 199 was the only one to be included in the Joint Board on Interstate Highways' 1926 plan. It is also the only branch still extant – the others, US Highway 299 and US Highway 399, both existed only in California and were decommissioned by that state during the 1964 renumbering. At that time, the American Association of State Highway Officials (today's AASHTO) decided that, since US 199 ran through two states, and was an important “cut-off” highway, the number should remain in use.

Though it is a short highway, just over 80 miles in length, US 199 treats the traveler to a scenic drive through the Pacific Northwest. Heading northward, the road begins at a junction with US Highway 101 in Crescent City, California, where one of the local newspapers has the rather prosaic name of The Triplicate. Proving that distant events can have far-reaching implications, the city once suffered the effects of a tsunami generated by the Alaska Earthquake of 1964.

US 199 leaves Crescent City in a northeasterly fashion through the Six Rivers National Forest and, after some 35 miles or so, crosses into Oregon. As it runs through old-growth redwood forests, the highway enters the Illinois River Valley heading toward Cave Junction. Located in the Siskiyou Mountains, Cave Junction is a pleasant rural community that's a popular vacation spot based on its proximity to the mountains and the Pacific coast.

After Cave Junction, US 199 passes into the Rogue River Valley and continues on its final miles to Grants Pass, yet another “waterway vacation wonderland”, of which there seems to be many in this part of Oregon. Just a few miles south of downtown Grants Pass, US 199 reaches what used to be its northern terminus at a junction with Oregon 99, the former US 99. After the conversion of US 99 to a state highway, US 199 was routed into Grants Pass and today ends at an interchange with Interstate 5.


SOURCES

Droz, Robert V., "Sequential List of US Highways", US Highways From US 1 to US 830. July 2003. <http://www.us-highways.com/us1830.htm> (July 2006)
Sanderson, Dale, “US Highway Ends”, End of U.S. highway 199. June 2005. <http://www.geocities.com/usend9099/End199/end199.htm> (July 2006)

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